Eight soldiers killed in a jihadist attack in the North of Burkina Faso

Am army patrol was targeted by a jihadist attack on Monday in Kankanfogouol, a town in the north of Burkina Faso near the border with Niger. 

Local terrorist groups pass from one side to the other of the border carrying out attacks in both countries.

Eight soldiers were reportedly killed in the attack.

“The health emergency linked to the relentless fight against COVID-19 should not make us forget the security imperatives. We are bound to remain alert on these two fronts, and I would like here to salute the commitment of our Forces Defense and Security,” the President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Kaboré wrote on Twitter on Monday, but did not mention the attack.  

The attack took place on Monday when a team from the Sebba military detachment, on patrol, was the target of an ambush led by armed jihadist groups in Kankanfogouol, a security source told the AFP.

The country is frequently the target of terrorist attacks , often interspersed with jihadism and inter-community conflicts, which have caused more than 850 casualties since 2015, and 840,000 internally displaced people.

According to UN data, the Sahel the effects of jihadist violence – often interspersed with inter-community conflicts – has left 4,000 people dead in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in 2019.