11 killed and many missing in Burkina Faso after convoy attack

An attack by suspected jihadists in Gaskindé, northern Burkina Faso on Monday, claimed the lives of “at least 11 soldiers” and “50 civilians [are] missing,” the government said Tuesday.

“A convoy supplying the population, escorted by a unit of the 14th RIA (Inter-Arms Regiment) bound for Djibo, was the target of a terrorist attack today (Monday) near the locality of Gaskindé,” a locality located in the Soum province, Sahel region, said an army statement.

“The count is still going on and reinforcements have been deployed in the area to assist the victims and secure the area,” a source told AFP on Monday.

On Sunday, another convoy escorted by the army, which left the day before from Dori, capital of the Sahel region, to supply the town of Sebba, was the target of an IED attack, according to security sources.

Four people were injured in the incident, and the convoy arrived on Monday to popular acclaim.

On Saturday, two soldiers and two civilian army auxiliaries were killed in a “terrorist” attack on a patrol in Tapoa province, a region in eastern Burkina Faso bordering Niger and Benin, according to the army.

Burkina Faso, where military officers took power in January promising to make the fight against jihadism their priority, is facing, like several neighboring countries, violence from armed movements affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Since 2015, recurring attacks there have killed thousands and displaced some two million people.