The Burkinabe army has suffered huge losses in the north-central part of the country during a security operation on the Taparko-Tougouri axis.
On Sunday evening, while on a reconnaissance and security mission on the Taparko-Tougouri axis, Burkinabe gendarmes were ambushed by armed men, leaving a heavy toll on them.
13 gendarmes died while several members of the Dori gendarmerie team are missing.
This is the second deadliest attack on the Burkinabe armed forces after the one on the gendarmerie in Inata on November 14, which left 53 dead and 20 missing.
This attack precipitated the fall of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré through an army coup on January 24, 2022.
Burkina Faso’s defense forces blamed President Kaboré for the security forces’ lack of equipment, manpower, and supplies in the face of well-armed jihadists.
At a time when the country’s new strongman, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has made the fight against jihadism a top priority, jihadist groups continue to spread panic in some parts of the country.
An operation is already underway by the Burkinabe army to find the abducted soldiers.
Since 2015, jihadist attacks in northern and eastern Burkina Faso have multiplied, killing nearly 2,000 people and displaced almost 1.7 million, according to the authorities.
CD/lb/as/APA