AFP photo (Representational).
Burkina Faso: In the West African country of Burkina Faso, in gruesome attacks on three villages a week ago, 170 people were claimed to be “executed”. Among the victims, there were dozens of women and children, Agence France-Presse reported.
A regional public prosecutor here, Aly Benjamin Coulibaly, said that he received reports of attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga province on February 25. He said the provisional death count was 170.
In a statement, he said that people were wounded and properties were damaged in the deadly attacks. His office has ordered an investigation and appealed to locals for information.
AFP learned from local security sources that the attacks were separate from those that happened in a mosque and a church in northern Burkina Faso, which also happened a week ago.
The administration has not released the official death count yet.
Since the insurgency by rebels of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which started in 2015, the country has been staggering under similar violent attacks. Around 20,000 people were killed, while more than two million were displaced here. Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the region, which is affected due to instability.
AFP reports that the state’s inability to mitigate the insecurity had a major role in two coups in 2022. President of the Transition of Burkino Faso made it a priority for him to fight the rebel groups, the report states.