Dozens feared dead in Burkina Faso attacks

In Burkina Faso, armed men attacked the town of Seytenga, near the border with Niger, on Saturday night, in what appears to be a reprisal for an attack on the gendarmerie brigade in the town on Thursday, June 9.

No official figures on death were issued, but several sources pointed to dozens of deaths.

Intervention units have been deployed to the area, according to the government spokesman.

According to witnesses, armed men have allegedly been harassing people in Seytenga for several days.

After the attack on the gendarmerie brigade on Thursday, June 9, the armed forces came to reinforce security in the area and further conducted a sweep.

They were dispatched to Dori area along with police and gendarmerie forces.

According to the government, these armed men attacked civilians without discrimination and systematically killed anyone they came across.

Burkina Faso, particularly the north and east, has been the target of jihadist attacks since 2015 perpetrated by movements affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State that have left more than 2,000 dead and 1.9 million displaced.

The country's new strongman, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who overthrew elected President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré at the end of January on charges of being ineffective in the face of jihadist violence, has made the security issue his "priority."

Since taking power, Damiba has faced an upsurge in attacks by suspected jihadists that have left some 200 civilians and soldiers dead.