Burkina Faso: the balance sheet of the Boukouma attack rises to 80 dead
A Burkinabè soldier in Ouagadougou (illustrative image) AFP PHOTO / SIA KAMBOU
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3 min
The latest attack by jihadist groups officially killed 65 civilians, 15 gendarmes and 6 auxiliaries from the Burkinabè armed forces.
These armed groups are increasingly attacking the convoy of defense forces or mixed convoys, especially in the Sahel region.
This responds to a strategy of these control groups this part of Burkina Faso, according to specialists.
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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Yaya Boudani
The convoy that left Dori on Wednesday August 18 had nearly 80 vehicles. "
It was spread over a distance of about 600 meters
", specifies a security source. The gendarmes were in the lead and at the end.
The attackers opened fire in Boukouma
, in the middle of the convoy about twenty kilometers from Arbinda after Gorgadji. "
This made the response of the gendarmes very difficult because it was necessary to avoid shooting at civilians
", maintains our source. It was after three hours of fighting that the terrorists were able to be repelled thanks to reinforcements from Gorgadji and Arbinda.
The new balance sheet communicated on Thursday was 80 dead, including 65 civilian victims, mostly men.
Their age is between 13 and 60 years old.
Fifteen gendarmes and six volunteers for the defense of the fatherland also fell.
"
Take Burkina Faso in a vice
"
"
From now on the armed groups carry out complex attacks against targets equipped and which can retaliate
", according to Mahamoudou Sawadogo.
This makes the researcher say that these groups have many combatants and significant material resources.
“
This is called the Eastern Strategy.
They do this to mark their presence on the pitch.
They want to prove their mastery and control of the territory,
”emphasizes a specialist in security issues.
Their intention would be to totally control this region of the Sahel and "
take Burkina Faso in a stranglehold
", by occupying other regions as well.
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