A shocking and brutal series of attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso has left a devastating toll of approximately 170 people executed, according to Aly Benjamin Coulibaly, a regional public prosecutor.
The villages of Komsilga, Nodin, and Soroe in Yatenga province fell victim to the assaults on February 25, resulting in numerous casualties, injuries, and substantial material damage.
Survivors recount harrowing tales of the attacks, with reports indicating that dozens of women and young children were among the victims, adding a particularly distressing dimension to the tragedy.
The regional public prosecutor, based in the northern town of Ouahigouya, issued a statement revealing the provisional toll and confirming the launch of an investigation, urging the public to provide any relevant information.
Local security sources have clarified that these attacks were distinct from another set of deadly incidents that occurred a week prior at a mosque and a church in northern Burkina Faso.
Official figures on the death toll from those attacks are yet to be released by authorities.
Burkina Faso has been grappling with a relentless jihadist insurgency, initiated by rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015.
The violence has exacted a heavy toll, claiming the lives of almost 20,000 people and displacing over two million in Burkina Faso, a nation situated in the Sahel, one of the world’s poorest regions plagued by persistent instability.
As the country mourns the loss of lives in these recent attacks, concerns escalate over the worsening humanitarian crisis and the persistent threat posed by the jihadist insurgency.
