Forty‑four civilians were killed by “armed terrorist groups” in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, a regional governor announced on Saturday. Lieutenant‑governor Rodolphe Sorgho described the incident as a “despicable and barbaric attack” and gave a provisional toll of 44 civilians dead and others wounded. He specified that 31 people died in Kourakou and 13 in Tondobi. Sorgho added that an army offensive had neutralised the armed groups responsible and that actions to stabilise the area were already underway.
The impoverished Sahel nation has been battling a seven‑year jihadist campaign linked to Al‑Qaeda and the Islamic State. A resident of Kourakou told AFP that “a large number of terrorists burst into the village” late Thursday, and that gunfire was heard throughout the night. By Friday morning, the villagers discovered “several dozen dead.” Locals said the attack was retaliation for the lynching of two jihadists a few days earlier, who had attempted to steal cattle.
The twin attacks are among the deadliest since Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a September coup. In February, 51 soldiers were killed in an assault on Deou in the far north, and last June 86 civilians were slain near Seytenga, another site of intense violence. This week Burkina Faso’s new military chief, Colonel Célestin Simpore, pledged to intensify a “dynamic offensive” against jihadists, saying the operation would force armed groups to lay down their weapons.
Since the jihadists launched their insurgency from neighboring Mali in 2015, an NGO estimates that more than 10,000 civilians, troops and police have been killed and at least two million people displaced. Official figures indicate that jihadists now control about 40 percent of the country. Frustrations within the military led to two coups last year, and Traoré, who took power in September, has vowed to reclaim lost territory. Nevertheless, jihadist raids and ambushes have continued throughout the year, inflicting heavy casualties on civilians and military convoys.
Burkina Faso’s beleaguered army has recently acquired foreign‑made drones and frequently releases video footage of strikes against alleged terrorists, portraying the operations as reconquering and securing lost ground. Since Traoré’s takeover, the activities of all political parties and civil‑society organisations have been suspended.
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