Medics appeal for blood after Burkina Faso attack

A student organization in Burkina Faso arranged a blood donation drive Tuesday in a show of solidarity with the victims of last week's Islamist attack in Yagha province.

At least 120 students turned up to give blood at the National Blood Transfusion Center in the capital Ouagadougou.

Amadou Dicko, president of a Yagha-based student group, said they took the initiative because they were born in the province and couldn't let such an atrocity happen "without us taking action."

At least 132 people died and many others were wounded after jihadis struck Solhan village on Friday night, shooting people and burning down homes and the market.

Laurent Sagy, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso, described the plight of people who were injured in the attack.

"There are people wounded by gunshots, open fractures. Pain medication is needed, and we're not talking about paracetamol," he said.

Saugy said his organization was providing support to various hospitals across the country.

For five years, Burkina Faso's ill-equipped and undertrained army has been struggling to stem a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, often arriving late or not at all to attacks.

The fighting has created the world's fastest growing displacement crisis, with more than 1.2 million people internally displaced in the country.