At least 33 soldiers killed in attack on military post in Burkina Faso

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – At least 33 soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded in a terrorist attack Thursday on a military post in eastern Burkina Faso, the army announced.

“The military detachment of Ougarou (Gourma Province, Est Region) faced a large-scale complex attack on the morning of Thursday...33 of our soldiers unfortunately died, while 12 others were wounded,” said a statement issued by the military.

It said reinforcements were deployed which enabled the evacuation of the wounded to health facilities.

The statement said the army neutralized 40 terrorists during fierce clashes.

Burkina Faso has been battling a violent insurgency that spread from neighboring Mali over the past decade linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS terrorist groups.

A large-scale massacre last week by men dressed in military uniforms in Karma, a village in northern Burkina Faso, left more than 100 people dead.

In a statement issued early Thursday by the prime minister’s office, the government condemned the April 21 attack in Karma and pledged to “do everything within its means to establish the truth” about the massacre.

The West African country recorded 1,135 deaths attributed to terrorists in 2022, a 50% climb compared to 2021, according to the 2023 Global Terrorism Index (GTI). ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​