The jihadist group had already claimed responsibility for an attack three days earlier in the same region.
The attack on Monday, February 20, against a Burkinabe army camp in Tin-Akoff, in the Oudalan province (Sahel region) was carried out by the Islamic State (IS). The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault through its weekly magazine “Al Naba” (the news) published on Thursday night in its distribution channels.
According to the insurgents, the fighting lasted 40 minutes. They claim to have killed dozens of soldiers and militiamen. At the time, security sources reported 19 dead among the soldiers who were holding the camp. There were also reports of an air intervention by the army against the assailants, but the latter has played down the impact of the air raid.
Similarly, the insurgents dispute the death toll of 112 jihadists provided by the army at the end of its response to the attack of 20 September and the one that occurred three days earlier on the Deou-Orsi axis, also in the Oudalan region, during which 51 soldiers were killed, according to official accounts.
This operation, claimed by the Islamic State, is one of the deadliest against the Burkinabe army in recent months.
Because of the resurgence of jihadist attacks, in September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore overthrew Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, himself the author of a coup eight months earlier against President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, for the same reasons.
But these regime changes do not appear to have alleviated insecurity in this central Sahelian country. To reverse the situation, the authorities have launched a vast campaign to recruit soldiers and civilian vigilantes called Volunteers for the Defense of the Motherland (VDPs).
Besides, military cooperation between Burkina Faso and some of its traditional partners, whose contribution to
the fight against terrorism is considered insufficient, is being questioned.
France has been asked to withdraw its “Sabre” Special Forces that were stationed in Kamboinsin, on the
outskirts of the capital.
Ouagadougou is also said to want to draw closer to Moscow, even though the transitional authorities have denied having any intention of enlisting Wagner mercenaries, who are believed to be present in Mali, according to several Western chancelleries.
Bamako prefers to talk about “Russian instructors.”
AC/fss/as/APA