Tue 05 September 2023:
Heavy fighting with militants in northern Burkina Faso resulted in the deaths of 37 volunteer fighters and 17 soldiers, according to the army. In the west African nation that has been battling hardline Islamists for years, it is the biggest strike in months.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been engaged in conflict with armed groups in its northern desert region, some of which have ties to al-Qaida and the Islamic State.
“This act of extreme cowardice will not go unpunished. Every effort is being made to disable the remaining terrorist elements on the run,” the statement said, adding that several dozen of the fighters were also killed and their combat equipment destroyed.
Operations in the area were still under way, the army said.
The latest fighting in Burkina Faso took place on Monday in Yatenga province, where the army has been trying to reconquer territory to allow displaced villagers to return home, the army’s statement said.
Burkina Faso’s government have increasingly relied on volunteer defense forces to assist them due to a lack of troops and supplies. These armed civilians, who assist police in the rural north, are frequently caught up in lethal assaults, such as one in April that murdered 34 people in a raid.
The urkina Faso junta has turned to Russia to fill the gap created by France’s departure. Last week, a Russian delegation met with Burkina Faso’s temporary president, Ibrahim Traoré, and discussed potential military collaboration.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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