In troubled Burkina Faso, suspected jihadists kill 28 people

They were among the 24 passengers on two minibuses coming from Banfora that were halted by armed men in Linguekoro on Sunday night.

The authorities announced Tuesday that 28 people, including 15 who had been kidnapped over the weekend, had perished in recent attacks by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso.

15 dead with bullet wounds were discovered on Monday close to Linguekoro, a community in the western province of Comoe, according to a statement from the regional governor, Colonel Jean-Charles Some.

He claimed they were among the 24 passengers on two minibuses coming from Banfora that were stopped by armed men in Linguekoro on Sunday night.

Eight males and sixteen females were among the passengers who were instructed to disembark, he claimed.

He stated that after being freed, “eight ladies and one guy were instructed to trek to Mangodara,” which is 30 kilometers (18 miles) away.

After the two minibuses were set on fire, the 15 extra people were taken off of them.

Separately, the army said that a “terrorist attack on Monday” in the town of Falangoutou in northern Burkina Faso killed 10 military police officers, two people who helped the army, and a civilian.

Increasing Cost
The attacks show that the insurgency that has been going on in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world, for more than seven years is getting worse.

Attacks connected to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have killed a lot of people and forced almost two million others to leave their homes.

The government has no control over more than one-third of the nation.

At least 77 people have passed away since the beginning of the year, according to a count collated by AFP from official declarations and security sources.

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In Arbinda, in the country’s north, 62 women and four infants were also kidnapped as they were foraging for food in January.

The state-run media reported that the army located them several days later at a location 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.

French swivel
Two coups were started last year as a result of army discontent with the growing cost of security forces.

France, the nation’s longtime ally and military backer, and the reigning junta fell out. Last Monday, France announced it would withdraw its troops at the request of the authorities.

In Operation Sabre, 400 French special forces are stationed close to the capital, Ouagadougou, as part of a larger military operation to combat Islamists throughout the Sahel region.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people protested in the capital to celebrate the withdrawal. Some demanded that Burkina Faso join Mali in forging a tight relationship with Moscow.

Mali’s elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was overthrown by the military in 2020. This was a big blow to France’s relationship with the country, which was the center of the jihadist uprising in the Sahel in 2012.

Russian paramilitaries, referred to by Paris and others as mercenaries of Russia’s privately run Wagner operation, were imported by the junta.

The Central African Republic and Mali, where France withdrew its forces in the face of resistance last year, are two countries where the Wagner group has been linked to abuses or crimes.