About 60 civilians were killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing military uniforms, the local prosecutor said late on Sunday, announcing an investigation into the latest bloodshed in the insurgency-hit nation.
Landlocked and in the heart of west Africa’s Sahel, the nation is one of the world’s most volatile and impoverished.
Attacks blamed on suspected militants are on the rise in Burkina Faso, which is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali.
Photo: AP
“About 60 people were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces” on Thursday last week in the village of Karma, in northern Yatenga Province, Ouahigouya High Court Prosecutor Lamine Kabore said in a statement, citing the police.
“The wounded have been evacuated and are currently being taken care of within our health facilities,” he said, adding that the perpetrators had “taken various goods.”
The village of Karma is near the Malian border and attracts many illegal gold miners.
Survivors said that more than 100 people on motorbikes and pickup trucks raided the village.
Dozens of men and young people were killed by the men, dressed in military uniforms, they said.
Survivors gave a toll of “about 80 dead.”
The latest bloodshed occurred a week after 34 defense volunteers and six soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected militants near the village of Aorema, about 15km from provincial capital Ouahigouya and 40km from Karma.
Following that attack, the Burkinabe military junta declared a “general mobilization” to give the state “all necessary means” to combat a string of bloody attacks blamed on militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
The decree states that anyone older than 18 years old and physically fit who is not in the armed forces would be “called to enlist according to the needs expressed by the competent authorities.”
The Burkinabe government had already announced a plan to recruit 5,000 more troops to battle the insurgency that has gripped the nation since 2015.
Captain Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso’s transitional president, has declared a goal of recapturing 40 percent of the nation’s territory which is controlled by militants.
The violence has left more than 10,000 people dead, according to non-governmental organizations, and displaced 2 million people from their homes.
Anger within the military at the mounting toll sparked two coups in last year, the most recent of which was in September, when Traore seized power.
He is standing by a pledge made by the preceding junta to stage elections for a civilian government by next year.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS