At least 51 soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack in northern Burkina Faso last Friday. to a unit of the army, which responded with an airstrike, as reported by the Burkinabe Armed Forces, which initially estimated eight uniformed deaths. “43 new bodies were found at the end of the shift on Monday, February 20, 2023, setting the provisional figure at 51 fallen soldiers,” the army said late on Monday. Said. “The movements continue with the intensification of air operations. neutralizing a hundred terrorists and destruction of equipment. Added to this figure 60 terrorists neutralized Since the beginning of the response” he added the official note.
After the military released that statement an hour ago, it posted that it said 60 jihadists were killed in an airstrike by gunmen on a military unit last Friday, which was ambushed in an ambush that killed eight soldiers. “Seven armed vehicles and dozens of motorcycles were destroyed by aircraft of the National Armed Forces,” the document said. The incident occurred in Oudalan province in the Sahel region (north).
Burkina Faso’s interim president, Captain Abraham Traoré, conveyed “the compassion of the entire nation” to the Army and “the families of the victims” after learning the number of dead soldiers. “The struggle is tough, full of ambushes, but our patriotic passion and determination will remain intact until final victory,” Traoré said in a statement.
Burkina Faso suffers frequent jihadist attacks It has been committed since April 2015 by groups affiliated with both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, especially in the north of the country. The country suffered two coups in 2022: one led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba on January 24, and another by Captain Abraham Traoré on September 30. According to government data, the military’s takeover of power followed popular discontent with the Army over jihadist attacks that displaced around 1.9 million people on both occasions.