Burkina Faso: 10 Civilians Murdered in the North By Suspected Jihadists

An attack by suspected jihadists killed 10 people in the north of Burkina Faso near the Niger border, according to military officials, while four others were kidnapped.

The killings, called “executions” by the military official, who declined to be named, took place on Monday around the village of Dambam as people were heading to market.

Another official told AFP newswire “most of the victims were murdered in a cowardly manner, their throats slit” and vehicle set on fire.

The “terrorists set up a checkpoint on the road between Dambam and Markoye and intercepted all those heading to the market,” said a local official, targeting people on foot, bicycle, and in cars.

Toops were deployed to the area to look for the kidnapped villagers.

Armed group presence

Authorities in the area said that armed groups have been making their way at the end of October into a number of communities in the restive tri-border region that contains Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.

Markoye is in this area, on the Burkinabé side, host of a popular livestock market on Mondays. Armed groups had already kidnapped a number of people, stole livestock, and looted communities, according to the official.

This attack is just the latest in an ongoing cycle of violence since the insurgency in neighbouring Mali traveled past Burkina Faso’s borders in 2015.

Last August, 30 people were killed in attacks around the Markoye area, including 11 civilians, 15 soldiers and four army colleagues.

By RFI website.