3 yıl önce

Armed group kills several policemen in northern Burkina Faso

At least five police officers were killed and three others were reported missing in the attack that occurred in Sourou province near Burkina Faso's border with Mali.

Reuters

This attack was the fourth deadly assault in a week against security forces battling extremist groups in the poor West African country.

Unidentified armed men killed at least five police officers in an attack on security forces in northern Burkina Faso.

Around fifteen of the assailants died during the attack which occurred in the early hours of Sunday, the security ministry said in a statement.

"Early this morning, around 6 AM, unidentified armed individuals attacked the police station in Di," a town located in Sourou province, a security source said.

"Unfortunately, five policemen were killed," the source said, without attributing the attack to any particular group.

"In addition to the five fallen policemen, three others are missing," another source said, adding that "operations are under way to find the missing policemen."

The Sourou province is in the borderlands near Mali, where extremist groups with links to al Qaeda and Daesh have increased attacks in recent years despite international efforts to stamp them out.

This attack was the fourth deadly assault in a week against security forces battling extremist groups in the poor West African country.

Burkina Faso has been hit by such attacks since 2015, mostly in the northern and eastern regions close to Mali and Niger but also in the south.

Extremist attacks have surged across Africa's Sahel region, killing thousands and driving millions from their homes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Around 1.2 million people have been displaced and 2,000 people killed by the violence in Burkina Faso alone.