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A series of coordinated terrorist attacks across northern and eastern Burkina Faso has left at least 10 people dead this week, according to security reports.
The violence, attributed to militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, targeted several military detachments and civilian volunteers.
These strikes mark a significant escalation in the decade-long insurgency that continues to destabilise the West African nation despite the military junta’s 2022 coup intended to restore security.
On Saturday, a massive group of several hundred militants besieged a military unit in Titao, the capital of Loroum province.
While official death tolls have not been released, local sources confirmed that portions of the base were destroyed.
The violence also spilt over into the civilian sector, as a truck carrying tomato traders from neighbouring Ghana was caught in the crossfire.
The Ghanaian government has since engaged with Burkinabe officials to identify citizens caught in the attack and assess the site.
The violence was not isolated to the north. In the east, army bases in Tandjari and Bilanga were also raided.
Security sources told AFP that the Bilanga detachment was ransacked on Thursday, resulting in approximately 10 deaths among soldiers and civilian volunteers.
Assailants reportedly occupied the town of Bilanga until the following day, causing extensive property damage.
Experts suggest the timing and scale of these simultaneous raids indicate a high level of strategic coordination among terrorist factions.
Since seizing power, the Burkinabe junta has increasingly restricted communication regarding such attacks, leading to widespread speculation on social media about much higher casualty rates.
Despite the government’s silence, data from the ACLED conflict monitor suggests that violence in the country has intensified, with more than half of the tens of thousands of deaths since 2015 occurring in just the last three years.
