OUAGADOUGOU: Burkina Faso has been struck by a series of attacks by militants, resulting in the deaths of 21 individuals, with the majority being members of the security forces. The assaults took place in different regions of the country, leaving a trail of devastation.
In the central-eastern town of Sawenga, 14 members of the Volunteer for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) militia and four soldiers were killed on Monday, while five others sustained injuries during a clash with militants.
According to security sources, the encounter occurred during an operation aimed at securing the area. In a swift counter-attack, an airborne response neutralized over 50 terrorists, stated a security source.
In a separate incident on Monday night, a police border post in Yendere, located on the southwestern frontier with Ivory Coast, was targeted. A policeman and two civilians lost their lives in the attack, as confirmed by a police source. A truck driver in the area verified the incident and revealed that many locals had already fled into Ivory Coast due to previous incursions by militants.
The situation in Burkina Faso remains critical as it grapples with an ongoing insurgency that originated from neighboring Mali in 2015. Official estimates suggest that nearly a third of the country is outside the government’s control.
Burkina Faso Facing Challenges in Countering Insurgency
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 civilians, troops, and police, while displacing at least two million people. Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest and most troubled nations, continues to face immense challenges in tackling the insurgency.
Last year, the military expressed its frustration with the failure to stem the insurgency, leading to two coups and the rise of Army Captain Ibrahim Traore to power. The current junta has firmly rejected any negotiations with the militants and is placing significant emphasis on the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland militia (VDP) as part of its anti-militancy strategy. Comprising civilian volunteers who receive two weeks of military training, the VDP collaborates with the army, often engaged in surveillance, information-gathering, and escort duties.
