APA – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – A joint detachment of soldiers and army auxiliaries was the target of a terrorist attack on Monday 4 September 2023 in the commune of Koumbari, in the north of the country, according to corroborating sources.
The mixed detachment in Koumbri was once again attacked by armed men, just as the patriot fighters had settled in, several sources report.
They point out that the locality has been the target of several terrorist attacks since 2016, forcing the population to leave the area.
“Last week, an operation was launched to reconquer the area through the deployment of this detachment made up of defense and security forces and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDPs)” L’Observateur Paalga explains.
In the midst of their reinstallation, the Burkinabe forces were surprised “very early on Monday morning” by militants affiliated to the al-Qaeda-affiliated ‘Groupe de Soutien à l’Islam et aux Musulmans’ (GSIM), in a “violent and deadly attack,” our sources report, adding that the Malian armed forces intervened with air support for the Burkinabe troops.
Unofficial reports put the death toll among the fighters at least 50, with several injured and important material damage, our sources add.
“From the results of this attack, it emerges that 17 bodies of combatants have been identified and 35 are being identified,” says the leading daily in Burkina Faso, confirming APA’s information.
Some 30 soldiers have been wounded and several others are missing, according to a security source.
Ambulances leaving Koumbri for the Ouahigouya University Hospital were constantly coming and going on Monday, “to drop off bodies at the morgue” and/or “to transfer the injured to the emergency department,” commented L’Observateur Paalga.
No official source wished to comment on the incident at this time.
For more than 8 years, Burkina Faso has been the regular target of attacks by armed terrorist groups, resulting in several casualties and almost two million displaced persons, according to official figures.
SD/ac/fss/abj/APA