Africa

Around 20 killed in latest wave of Burkina Faso violence

By Staff Writer 7 Oct 2019 1 Min Read Save

Last updated: 7 Oct 2019, 12:50

Soldiers are seen outside the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 16, 2016, after security forces retook the hotel from al Qaeda fighters who seized it in an assault that killed two dozen people from at least 18 countries and marked a major escalation of Islamist militancy in West Africa. REUTERS/Stringer

DAKAR – Twenty people were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists on a gold-mining site in northern Burkina Faso on Friday, two sources said.

Gunmen came to the Dolmande site in Soum province and fired on people working there, killing 20, a security source said on condition of anonymity on Sunday.

A local source said around 20 people had been killed in the attack, but gave no further details.

There was no immediate comment from the Burkinabe authorities.

Once a pocket of relative calm in the Sahel, Burkina has suffered a homegrown insurgency for the past three years, which has been amplified by a spillover of jihadist violence and criminality from its chaotic neighbour Mali.

Friday’s bloodshed extends a run of recent violence, that includes the death of at least 29 people in attacks on a food convoy and a transport truck in early September.

Africa Burkina Faso