On Sunday, in the region of Center-East bordering Togo, specifically in Nohao near the town of Bittou, a suspected jihadist attack resulted in the tragic loss of twenty lives in Burkina Faso, as reported by AFP on Monday.
According to a security source, the assault claimed the lives of approximately twenty individuals, primarily consisting of shopkeepers. However, a trader presented a more dire account, indicating that “25 people were killed” and detailing that “more than fifteen transport trucks were looted and subsequently set ablaze by the terrorists.”
Furthermore, another merchant disclosed that around “ten individuals were wounded,” necessitating their evacuation to Bittou. These traders had been returning from Cinkansé, a trading hub on the border with Togo, after their market activities.
“We deplore the loss of life whose bodies were deposited” at “the morgue of the CHR (Regional Hospital Center) of Tenkodogo”, capital of the Center-East region, said in a press release a local official, Sami Beranger Pooda, who does not specify any figures.
Another attack occurred “Thursday around 6 p.m.”, according to the same security source, and “targeted a convoy of several dozen vehicles carrying goods”.
Starting from 2015, Burkina Faso has found itself ensnared in an escalating cycle of violence attributed to jihadist factions associated with both Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. According to data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), this includes over 5,000 incidents since the commencement of 2023.
Regrettably, this wave of violence has resulted in the internal displacement of over two million individuals within the country.
In the middle of July, President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who assumed authority in September 2022 through a coup d’état, lamented the escalating frequency of assaults against civilians. He expressed his belief that the jihadists were displaying “cowardice” through these increasingly prevalent attacks.