At least 170 people were killed in a series of attacks in northern Burkina Faso last weekend. Burkinabe prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly announced this in a statement on Saturday. A team from the Public Prosecution Service therefore visited the affected villages and discovered that mass attacks had taken place in Yatenga province last Sunday. The Burkinabe authorities had not yet released death figures.
The same weekend there were attacks on a church and a mosque. 29 believers died. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the bloody acts. Numerous Islamist groups are active in northern Burkina Faso and have pledged allegiance to the terrorist militias Al Qaeda and Islamic State. According to research by the conflict data organization ACLED, more than 8,400 people died last year in the conflict between terrorists and the government in Burkina Faso. Of these, at least 2,300 were civilians.
Next Monday, Minister of Development Cooperation Svenja Schulze (SPD) will travel to Burkina Faso for political talks. Schulze is the first European minister to visit the West African country since the 2022 military coup led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. The transitional military government is estimated to control only about half of the country’s territory and has indefinitely postponed promised elections this year. More than two million residents are on the run.
Burkina Faso, like its neighbors Mali and Niger, which are also ruled by the military after coups, is getting closer to Russia. All three have turned away from the deeply unpopular former colonial power France, which previously supported the region in the fight against terrorism. Schulze also travels as chairman of the Sahel Alliance, which was founded by Germany, France and the European Union to support states in the region. Germany is the fourth largest donor, after the World Bank, France and the EU. Schulze is accompanied by the responsible vice president of the World Bank. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
