The rural commune of Baola in the centre-north region has been emptied after a jihadist attack.
Jihadists carried out on Wednesday a “violent” incursion into the locality of Baola, killing at least 21 people, including more than a dozen civilian auxiliaries of the army, APA learnt from local and security sources. Several civilians were also injured.
According to witnesses contacted on the spot, the attackers arrived in large numbers in the early evening and attacked the positions of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) who protect the population and internally displaced persons.
“It was the day of the Baola market, so there were many people. When the fighting started, it was a stampede. They were violent and lasted for almost three hours,” said a WFP member who took part in the clashes.
He said that as soon as the fighting started, the auxiliaries asked for air support from the army, to no avail.
However, the VDPs neutralised “about twenty jihadists” in the response, a security source said.
A source close to the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) acknowledged the traces of the militants of the Al Qaeda-linked group, which said it had killed more than a dozen civilians and recovered motorbikes, weapons and ammunition in Baola.
It did not report any casualties in its ranks.
This is the fourth time that the locality of Baola has been targeted by jihadist groups in six months, after the incursions of 18 July, 2 and 4 September 2022.
DS/ac/lb/as/APA