Suspected jihadists killed at least 10 civilians in a market in northern Burkina Faso over the weekend, security officials and local residents told AFP on Tuesday.
The West African country has been hit hard by a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighboring Mali in 2015.
Thousands of civilians, soldiers and police have been killed, and anger within the military over the mounting casualties has led to two coups in 2022.
“Sunday was the worst day for Manni,” said a resident of the town in Gnanya district.
“Terrorists attacked the town in the evening, causing death and destruction.”
“It is difficult to determine the exact death toll, but at least 10 people were killed and more than 50 injured were taken to Manni Medical Center,” a local official said.
Another local resident said the attackers were directly targeting the market.
“When they showed up, they opened fire and caused general panic. They then looted shops and set the whole place on fire,” he said, adding that the casualties were “huge considering the scale of the attack.” He added that he was concerned that this might happen.
“The hospital was completely overwhelmed and the injured had to be treated in the courtyard,” he continued.
A video circulating on social media shows medical staff treating the injured, allegedly in the courtyard of Manni Hospital.
A security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that there had been a “jihadist attack”.
He did not provide further details, but added that “combat forces are operating in the surrounding area.”
“Kill indiscriminately”
The military junta that rules the West African country made no official casualties for the violence, in line with the policy it has followed for several months.
When the junta took power in 2022, it vowed to make fighting “terrorists” its top priority.
More than 26,000 people have been killed in armed attacks in Burkina since 2015, more than 6,000 of them this year, according to NGO Acred, which collects information on reported political violence and protests around the world. It is reported that it did.
On Saturday, the day before the Manni attack, junta leader Ibrahim Traore held a lengthy question-and-answer session with a caller on public radio.
“We are in conflict with armed bandits who commit indiscriminate killings. We do not want reconciliation with them. We will continue to fight until they raise the white flag of their own accord,” he said.
Burkina endured its worst attack in history in late August, when armed groups reportedly killed hundreds of civilians and security personnel near the northern village of Barsalogo.
An al-Qaeda-linked group known by its Arabic initials “JNIM” claimed responsibility for the attack, and groups representing families of the victims said more than 400 civilians were killed.
Security sources in France, the former colonial power, announced that about 600 civilians were killed.
Families of the victims have accused military authorities of forcing them to leave their villages to dig military trenches three kilometers away, exposing them to their killers.
A video circulating on social media purportedly shows a gunman firing an automatic weapon into a trench containing at least 91 bodies.
Traore said on Saturday that an investigation into the Barsa Rojo attack was ongoing, adding: “The perpetrators will be identified within the next few days.”
