Dozens killed in Burkina attacks

One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso has been battered by jihadist raids since 2015, when insurgents began mounting cross-border attacks from Mali

Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said on Monday.

In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the VDP volunteers, a leader of the force told AFP.

One occurred at Guessel, where "around 20 people, including eight VDP" were killed, while the other took place at Markoye, where five volunteers and one civilian died, the VDP officer said.

In Kompienga, near Burkina Faso's southeastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed in Namouyouri on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort, a security source in the region said.

A local inhabitant said three VDP volunteers also died in this attack, and called for help for the wounded, which he said numbered nearly a dozen.

In another raid overnight on Saturday, assailants carried out a coordinated attack on police and gendarmes' posts in Faramana, near the frontier with Mali, causing two wounded, a security source said.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso has been battered by jihadist raids since 2015, when insurgents began mounting cross-border attacks from Mali.