At least 12 civilians died Thursday in an attack in northern Burkina Faso that was likely done by jihadists.
Approximately 10 kilometers from the northern region’s capital, Ouahigouya, a group of “terrorists” attacked the village of Aorema, locals told AFP on Thursday.
A group of young people were sitting in a kiosk when the assailants started shooting at them. Three people died in their homes after being struck by stray bullets and seven young people died instantly. One of them said, “Two other people were shot and later died from their wounds.
Fourteen deaths were reported, according to another resident, with several injured people dying as a result of their injuries in the days that followed the attack.
The terrorists, who had already entered the village, “directly targeted the kiosk where the young people were gathered, ordering the young people of the village to stop gathering there,” the man claimed.
A security source confirmed the attack and stated that “operations are underway” without providing any additional information.
A curfew was implemented the day after the attack in Burkina Faso’s entire northern region, which borders Mali and is frequently the target of jihadist attacks.
Until March 31, this curfew forbids the movement of people and vehicles between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am.
In addition to the northern region, a curfew has been implemented for one to three months in several provinces in the center-east, center-north, and east.
Since the beginning of the year, jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has increased, resulting in dozens of deaths—both soldiers and civilians—almost every week.
According to NGOs, since 2015, more than 10,000 civilians and soldiers have died as a result of the violence, which has been blamed on organizations associated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (EI), and about two million people have been displaced.
