Al Qaeda says it killed 300 fighters in Burkina Faso attack, denies civilian casualties

An al Qaeda-linked armed group said it killed nearly 300 people but not civilians in Saturday’s devastating attack in north-central Burkina Faso, the U.S. consultancy Site Intelligence Group reported. However, a group of victims’ relatives said at least 400 were killed when jihadists opened fire on civilians digging defensive trenches on orders of the military.

Several videos apparently filmed by the terrorists and released on social media showed dozens of bodies in trenches, most of them in civilian clothing.

A former French colony, Burkina Faso is a majority Muslim country that was initially spared jihadi violence that began in neighboring Mali 10 years ago. France sent troops into the region to drive back the Islamic militants in 2013. The violence has since swept across the vast semi-arid area of Africa south of the Sahara.

Frustrations over worsening violence led to two coups in Burkina Faso in 2022, but the new authorities have failed to stem the bloodshed. Over 6,500 civilians have been killed since the start of 2020, the nongovernmental organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data showed in July. More than half died under the current government.

Despite the jihadi violence, some civilians say they are more afraid of Burkina Faso’s security forces, who they accuse of extrajudicial killings and the disappearance of untold numbers of others accused of supporting the militants.

The killings have only grown under the junta led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in September.

Part of the junta’s strategy has been to recruit some 50,000 volunteer fighters to serve alongside the military, but residents say this has only contributed to civilian killings as the volunteers round up anyone they suspect of ties to the extremists. Often those swept up are members of the minority ethnic Fulani, a largely Muslim group who mostly live in the north where fighting has been most intense.

Source » firstpost.com