A weekend attack by jihadists on a strategic town in northern Burkina Faso killed around 10 civilians, including seven Ghanaians, according to officials and locals.
Though the army claims it repelled the attack on Saturday, the toll puts the total number of individuals believed dead in jihadist attacks in the West African nation at at least 20, according to local and security sources.
For more than a decade, Burkina Faso has been beset by bloodshed by extremists affiliated with either the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda throughout large swaths of its arid region.
Despite the army seizing control in a 2022 coup with the promise of restoring security within months, the country continues in a state of unrest.
On Saturday, assailants invaded Titao, the seat of northern Louroum province, attacking a military force stationed there.
According to a resident who spoke with AFP on Monday, “There were about 10 deaths among the civilian population.”
“Traders and truck drivers who had come to the market were killed,” the local said, adding that “several shops and trucks were set on fire.”
The interior minister of Ghana, which borders Burkina Faso to the south, told Joy FM radio on Monday that seven Ghanaian tomato dealers were slain in the attack, and their bodies had been burned beyond recognition.
The Burkinabe army, which rarely talks about the country’s numerous attacks, broke its quiet late Sunday on national television to claim victory over a terrorist offensive on Titao.
In an interview, army spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Abdoul Aziz Ouedraogo alleged that the jihadists set fire to the market in order to create “propaganda” movies.
On Monday, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, also known as JNIM in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the attack in Titao, claiming that “dozens of Burkinabe soldiers” were killed in the raid.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group also claimed responsibility for attacks on army bases in Nare, Tandjari, Bilanga, and Ouahigouya from Thursday to Sunday, claiming the deaths of at least 19 troops.
According to conflict monitor ACLED, Burkina Faso’s jihadist insurgency has killed tens of thousands of civilians and military since 2015, with more than half dying in the last three years.
