Burkina Faso has been confronted with a resurgence of jihadist violence since the beginning of the year. At least 70 Burkinabé soldiers have died in two attacks in northern Mali in four days. The deadly raids, attributed to jihadist groups, have killed more than 200 civilians and soldiers in Burkina since early January.
According to security sources, at least fifteen soldiers were killed on Monday evening in the province of Oudalan in the far north of the country, a few kilometers from the Malian border. “The Tin Akoff unit was the target of a violent attack,” said a first source, conjuring up a tally of “fifteen dead” and “missing elements.”
The deadliest attack since the coup
The balance could increase: A second security source presented a balance of 19 dead and “dozens missing”. According to the first source, the Burkinabe army’s air and ground response enabled it to “neutralize” “dozens of terrorists.” And operations are continuing, according to this source, “focused on Oudalan province, which has seen a resurgence of violence in recent days.”
At least 51 soldiers were killed in an ambush in this province near Déou on Friday, a preliminary estimate, the army said. This is the deadliest attack since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power during a coup in late September 2022: it is also the one that has caused the most deaths in the army since November 2021. At that time, 57 gendarmes were killed after he unsuccessfully asked for help.
“Support the authorities of the transition”
This attack had then caused deep trauma within the armed forces and the mind. It came just before the first coup in January 2022 that toppled President-elect Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was accused of “incompetence” towards the jihadists. Responding to the Deou ambush on Tuesday, Captain Traoré reiterated that in this “pitched battle”, the “patriotic outburst” and the “determination” of the authorities “remained intact until final victory” against jihadist groups .
According to the army, 160 jihadists died responding to that attack on Friday. The head of the junta can count on the support of several political parties and civil society organizations. “In these difficult times, I urge all Burkinabés to cultivate the spirit of national unity and to support the authorities of transition in their determination to restore our territorial integrity,” said Zéphirin Diabré in a press release from the President of Union Change (UPC) and former minister of President Kaboré. According to NGOs, the violence has claimed more than 10,000 lives in the past seven years – civilians and soldiers – and about two million people have been displaced.