APA – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) Attacks by insurgents have increased manifold in Burkina Faso in recent weeks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces has been warning for several weeks of “the risk of recurring attacks” in Burkina Faso, according to a memo signed on Friday 1 March 2024 by Brigadier General Célestin Simporé.
He explained that armed groups are threatening to carry out “large-scale kamikaze attacks” against the positions of the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP).
The army chief also fears “attacks in urban centres.”
Between 2016 and 2018, Ouagadougou was the target of three jihadist attacks, two of which were claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Support Group for Islam and Muslims.
To prepare for any eventuality, the army has “raised the alert level” and recommended “increased vigilance at all levels.”
The various security posts will be put on permanent alert, deterrent patrols will be carried out and systematic checks and searches of people and vehicles will be conducted.
General Simporé asked that “resources be strengthened, with the possible use of watchtowers, observation posts such as pylons and any other available means.”
In recent weeks, jihadist groups have killed around 200 people in several attacks.
Without blaming the jihadists, the prosecutor of the High Court of Ouahigouya reported on Saturday 2 March that the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soro, in the northern province of Yatenga, were the target of “massive murderous attacks” on Sunday 25 February.
On the same day, in the east of the country, a mosque in Natiaboani was attacked.
Around fifteen Muslims were also killed during dawn prayers.
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