8th March, 2023
At least 110 terrorists were killed in Burkina Faso as the government launched airstrikes against rebel groups in the country’s northern and southern parts.
The AIB state news agency reported this on Tuesday evening.
An army spokesperson confirmed the offensive but did not specify how many people had died so far.
Since last week, a nighttime curfew and a ban on riding certain types of motorcycles have been in effect in northern Burkina Faso.
Several armed rebel groups are active in Burkina Faso, a 21-million-strong West African country, as well as the larger Sahel region, which stretches south of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.
Some have pledged allegiance to the terrorist organisations’ Islamic State or al-Qaeda.
President Ibrahim Traoré’s transitional government, which took power following a military coup in the autumn, has so far failed to push back the militants.
Around 70 soldiers were killed in attacks within a few days in February, and civilians have also been repeatedly targeted.
According to the Burkina Faso Movement for Human and People’s Rights (MBDHP).
No less than 60 civilians were killed when armed militiamen attacked a village in the Tapoa region of the country’s east on February 26, damaging property and looting cattle.
There were no official casualty figures.
dpa/NAN