At least 12 soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso on Sunday.
"Armed elements" attacked a military unit "in the vicinity of Natiaboani" in the east of the country, the AFP news agency learned from security circles.
"The still provisional balance sheet is that twelve soldiers fell."
According to another source, it was a "patrol and security team that was attacked by suspected jihadists."
Accordingly, “several elements were also neutralized on the enemy side”.
Natiaboani is located in a region that has been regularly attacked by armed groups since 2018.
According to local media, around 15 youths in the area were kidnapped on Friday.
At least 23 civilians and 25 military personnel have died in a total of six attacks in the north and east of the West African country over the past ten days.
Violence doesn't stop
At the end of January, the military deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Kaboré had been accused of not acting decisively enough against the jihadist violence.
In early March, junta leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba appointed an interim government to remain in office for three years until democratic elections are held.
Like the neighboring countries of Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso has been plagued by massive jihadist violence since 2015.
Since then, at least 2,000 people have been killed in the region and another 1.4 million displaced.