Published on: 06/13/2022 – 19:42 Modified on: 06/13/2022 – 23:37
Jihadist attacks have increased in northern and eastern Burkina Faso in recent days. The deadliest is the one that hit the village of Seytenga near the Niger border on Thursday 9 June.
The armed men attacked on the night of June 11-12. After an attack on the gendarmerie brigade last Thursday, the security forces left the scene after a search by the armed forces. After leaving, the gunmen, who arrived on motorcycles, rushed into the village of Seytenga to attack the population and massacred many civilians.
“I was at my door when they arrived. I looked for my son and found many dead people on the ground. I heard shots,” testified a local resident at the correspondent’s microphone RFI Fulfulde to Dory.
“I looked at the market, the mosque and the bank… Finally I was able to reach my son and we returned together. Back then, the jihadists transported herds of cows, goats and sheep. We saw them, they took everything with them,” adds the woman.
“Those who are afraid never stop counting”
They also sowed death on their way: “They passed the market, the paved road, they killed people everywhere. Everywhere on the street there are only dead people. They stayed here all night and left the next day. They killed one of my little brothers,” says the resident.
According to her, “They went out with women. There were my two cousins carrying their children on their backs. They brought them in and asked them questions. They tortured her before releasing her.”
Fear had already gripped the town since the gendarmerie attack, so many civilians had begun to flee towards Dori, almost 50 km to the west. Some feared a punitive expedition. “They started by coming into my house and entering it. I had told my wife when they asked her where I was to say I had been on a trip for 4, 6 or 7 months. They destroyed everything in the area: the shops, the pharmacy, the school, the hospital… There were many dead but I don’t know how many because someone who is afraid doesn’t stop counting”, says a local resident.
A balance that could increase
The government announced on Monday June 13 that around fifty bodies had been found in addition to the 11 gendarmes killed. This Tuesday, 29 new victims were discovered, bringing the death toll to 79. But “the research continues,” government spokesman Lionel Bilgo told a news conference, hinting that the toll could increase:
“Via air and land vectors, the defense and security forces landed at Seytenga. You search house by house, plot by plot. The point here is to say that the record may be heavier. »
Although the attack displaced many people, several people returned to the village. “The Army is therefore asking all communities to work together and give them the opportunity to take a census to provide a definitive assessment of this heinous attack,” the spokesman said, urging residents to come forward if any of their relatives were killed Gunmen killed men.
The number of killings in Seytenga may be more than the fifty bodies found, according to the government
Almost 3,000 displaced
The attack resulted in the displacement of around 3,000 people, mostly women and children, to Dori, some forty kilometers away. reports our correspondent in Ouagadougou, Yaya Boudani. These displaced people are settled in about ten locations. Residents of Seytenga and the surrounding area arrive by donkey, cart, tricycle, or on foot. They sometimes took long detours to avoid the main road.
“The population is welcomed alongside Dori thanks to the army and humanitarian aid,” the government spokesman continued. Those in need of medical attention were taken care of, and those in need of food or other assistance were taken care of. A psychological cell was also positioned on Dori’s side to accompany these victims. »
For their part, civil society and local authorities in Dori have pledged to take care of the displaced, mainly women and children.
Given the situation, the government spokesman is calling on the Burkinabe to put aside all their differences and unite to defend their territory. “The country is mourning, we were hit and these acts look like reprisals because in the last few weeks the army has created a bloodletting in the ranks of the terrorists. »