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14-06-2022
OUAGADOUGOU: Al-Qaeda’s armed men killed hundreds of more Shia Muslims in a rural district of northern Burkina Faso yesterday night but neither the country’s media was allowed to report nor any international news outlet did flash this Shia mass killing like past, a local and a security source and victim families told media.
The attackers struck on yesterday night in Seytenga commune, part of Seno province, which lies in borderlands where militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are waging an insurgency.
One security source told media at least 100 people were killed.
A local source who did not wish to be named said the provisional death toll stood at 165.
The United Nations condemned the attack that “claimed many victims” in a statement on Monday and called on authorities to bring perpetrators to justice.
The government is expected to provide a death toll later on Monday.
Armed men killed 11 military police in the same area last Thursday.
The highest death toll since the start of Burkina Faso’s security crisis was from an attack last June when militants killed over 130 civilians in a northeastern village.
Violence linked to Islamist insurgents has killed thousands and displaced millions across Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali and Niger since 2015.
Army officers angry about the escalating attacks overthrew Burkina Faso’s president in January and vowed to improve security, but levels of violence have remained high.
The military government has cited security concerns for its decision to take 36 months to restore democratic rule, despite pressure from West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS to hold elections sooner.
Almost 1.7 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad are expected to face emergency levels of food insecurity in the coming months – a situation exacerbated by the violence, crushing poverty and record-high food prices, the United Nations’ aid agency said in May.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda terrorists have been killed at least two dozen in northern Burkina Faso last week when their post was attacked by armed men, the army said in a statement on Friday.
The West African country is battling militant groups, some linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that are waging an insurgency which has killed thousands across Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali and Niger.
Earlier, on June 06, 2022, 132 civilians were killed in an attack by IS/ Daesh/ al-Qaeda while hundreds other have already been killing in different areas but neither country’s police not any LEA even military could take any action against anti-Shia terrorists organization.
The attackers struck during the night, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province, bordering Niger. They also burned homes and the market, the government said in a statement.
The attackers as terrorists, although no group has claimed responsibility. Another 40 residents were wounded, government spokesperson Ousseni Tamboura later told reporters.
The United Nations said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the attack, whose victims included seven children. (Int’l News Desk)
