DAKAR: State prosecutor of Burkina Faso has said that at least 70 civilians have been killed, including elderly and children, in an attack on a village in country’s north on November 5, Western media reported on Monday.
The African country is facing jihadist insurgency that started from neighboring Mali in 2015 and has left more than 17,000 civilians and soldiers dead and displaced two million people.
Prosecutor Simon Gnanou added an attack in the central northeastern town of Zaongo by unknown persons on November 5, left 70 dead.
Burkina Faso has been under the rule of a transitional government came after a September 2022 coup.
EU strongly condemns the attack in Zaongo village
The European Union has strongly denounced the attack in Zaongo village.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called upon the post-coup transition authorities in Ouagadougou to take all measures to determine who was responsible for the attack.
Meanwhile the US government also condemned the violence in the African state.
A security source told media that an investigation had been started into the killings. A Zaongo resident said that the massacre occurred two days after fighting between security forces and terrorists.
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Gnanou lauded the security forces for demining of the zone and fighting back following the attack by suspected jihadists.
It is pertinent to mention that Burkinabe authorities in April launched an investigation into another massacre of 136 people including women and children in the town of Karma.
