Fresh jihadist violence has killed “several dozen” soldiers and civilians in simultaneous attacks in a town in northern Burkina Faso which for three years has been besieged by armed groups.
The junta-ruled west African country has endured a decade of attacks by jihadist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
On Sunday, hundreds of jihadists carried out simultaneous attacks on a military detachment and police posts as well as launching incursions into various areas of the town of Djibo, security and local sources told AFP.
The town is near the tri-border area between Niger, Burkina and Mali plagued by jihadist groups.
The assailants “arrived by the hundreds, on motorcycles and vehicles, practically encircling the town”, said a security source.
“Groups made incursions into some areas of the town causing civilian casualties,” a second security source said, adding that there had been an undetermined number of military casualties.
Residents who spoke to AFP by telephone confirmed the attacks and gave a death toll amounting to “several dozen”.
In one district of the town, “people were executed in front of their homes”, notably adult males, one resident of Djibo told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Women and children were spared,” the resident said.
“The shooting lasted for several hours. Until the afternoon, we could still hear heavy gunfire.”
According to Wamaps, a group of west African journalists who cover security issues in the Sahel, the jihadists remained in the town from 6:00 am until 1:00 pm and fled before Burkinabe special forces arrived.
The group confirmed a “very heavy” toll.
“Since yesterday evening, calm has returned, but the town is in mourning. We don’t understand how an attack of this magnitude could be carried out over several hours,” another resident told AFP.
“Flee? No, it’s not possible to get out of Djibo without an escort. We’re condemned to stay,” the resident said.
The Burkina army organises secure convoys for resupplying the town but they are irregular.
In September, a number of Djibo residents fled the town after an ultimatum by jihadists and in November 2023, 40 civilians were killed in an attack.
The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.
Several other areas in central and northern Burkina were also attacked on Sunday, according to security sources, who did not report tolls.
The military junta of Captain Ibrahim Traore, which seized power in September 2022, rarely communicates about attacks and regularly claims to have taken back territory in thrall to jihadists.
But the country remains caught in a spiral of violence which has left more than 26,000 civilians and soldiers dead since 2015.
More than half of those have been in the past three years, according to the NGO Acled, which tracks victims of conflict.
Separately, the army and its civilian volunteers are regularly accused of violations.
On Monday, Human Rights Watch accused the security forces of having “led and participated” in a March massacre of at least 130 ethnic Fulani civilians.
The junta has turned its back on ties with its former colonial master and traditional partner France and moved closer to Russia.
The attack in Djibo unfolded as junta chief Traore was returning from Moscow where he attended Friday’s Red Square military parade alongside President Vladimir Putin marking the defeat of the Nazis 80 years ago.
