Burkina Faso: Gunmen on
motorbikes kill 20 civilians
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| (File photo) French soldiers patrol a rural area in Northern Burkina Faso (AFP) |
Around 20 people were killed over the weekend in Burkina
Faso when gunmen on motorcycles rode into a northwestern village and started
shooting civilians.
By Devin Watkins
Burkina Faso’s government said heavily-armed gunmen arrived
in Lamdamol village in the northwestern Seno province late at night.
They began shooting civilians at random, killing 18 people
and possibly more.
The regional governor said a newly-appointed chief nurse was
among those killed in the attack. He added that security forces are still
searching for the gunmen.
Violent region
Lamdamol village lies in the Sahel region, which has seen a
sharp uptick in jihadist violence in recent months.
Islamist extremists have gained ground in the north of
Burkina Faso and are pushing east.
This latest attack follows a similar one less than a week
ago in which nearly 40 people were killed in a neighboring province.
Pope Francis recently appealed for an end to the violence in
Burkina Faso, and for the promotion of interreligious dialogue and harmony.
Over 110 civilians have been killed in jihadist attacks in
Burkina Faso already this year.
More French troops
The recent violence comes on the heels of France’s
announcement that it would send 600 additional troops to the Sahel region to
combat extremists.
The new deployments will bring the total number of French
troops in the area to more than 5,000.
Over 4,000 people were killed in Africa’s restive Sahel
region in the past year alone.
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