Gulf of jihadist violence in Burkina Faso: ‘More than a hundred dead’

The Jihadist group Jnim killed more than a hundred people in the north of Burkina Faso on Sunday. The attacks took place in several places in the African country, including a military base and in the city of Djibo. Soldiers in particular would have died, care providers and civilians informed international press agencies on Tuesday.

According to residents of the regularly besieged city of Djibo, where the biggest attack took place on Sunday, militants shot people on the street. In Djibo, JNIM fighters « first took all the checkpoints of the city before they attacked the military camps, » a counselor told AP news agency. When the government army arrived, the militants had already fled.

The Jihadist group JNIM, which has ties with al-Qaeda, is active in several countries in the Sahel region. There is a lot of extremist violence in the African area, where Mali, Niger and Chad, among others,. For example, Islamic State is active there.

No control over area

Burkina Faso has been plagued by extremist violence for years. Last year were in the country Thousands of people killed Through jihadist violence, according to Human Rights Watch.

Burkina Faso has been led by the military juntaHe says he wants to defend citizens against jihadist movements. Leader Ibrahim Traoré claims that he regularly acts hard against the jihadists and have already recaptured a lot of area, but critics question those claims. The army has no control in more than half of the country.

« The fact that Djibo was the target shows the size of the freedom of movement of the Jnim within Burkina Faso, » told AP to AP. Nevertheless, the military junta recently expelled the western security forces, including from France, the country. The government army has also been accused several times of extrajudicial executions.

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