Burkina Faso is still reeling from the shock of a deadly attack by terrorists over the weekend that killed more than 200 people, according to reports.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda have waged a grinding insurgency in the country since 2015 that has killed thousands and displaced two million people.
The latest attack was carried out by armed men in the village of Barsalogho in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday, multiple sources said.
Denouncing the "cowardly and barbaric attack," Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said it was carried out by "hordes of criminals."
'No distinction in attack'
The assailants targeted "women, children, elderly, men, making no distinction," Ouedraogo said on national television.
A local resident told AFP by phone that the assault happened around 9:00 am, when "terrorist groups attacked the village, killing numerous civilians and security personnel."
Most of the "numerous wounded" were taken to a hospital in the regional capital of Kaya, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) away, the source added.
According to another local resident, the victims were mainly "young civilians, who came out in large numbers to help the soldiers dig trenches around the town, to protect themselves from possible attacks by armed terrorist groups."
Soldiers intervention
A second security source said that "the response of the soldiers" and auxiliary troops "made it possible to neutralise several terrorists and avoid a greater tragedy."
According to a hospital source in Kaya, more than 100 wounded people were taken to the city's largest medical centre.
The chief of the centre called on all personnel to come in to deal with the "emergency linked to a massive influx of patients since the morning of (Saturday) August 24," according to an internal note seen by AFP.
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said civilians were killed in the attack, despite "a response and air support."
Soldiers and members of a civilian force that supports the military—Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP)—were also killed, according to Sana.
After taking power in a putsch in September 2022, Burkina's coup leaders expelled troops and diplomats from former colonial ruler France and have turned to Russia for military assistance.
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