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Around 30 killed in attack on village in eastern Burkina Faso, security sources say

04 May 2021 00:31 (UTC +04:00)

Armed assailants killed around 30 people in an attack on a village in eastern Burkina Faso on Monday, four security sources said, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The attack took place in the village of Hantoukoura near the border with Niger in Est region, an area hit by rising insecurity as jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State seek to gain control over once peaceful territories.

In a statement, Est Governor Saidou Sanou said more than 10 civilians and two members of a civilian defence militia were killed by the unidentified attackers, who also torched a number of shops and ransacked the health centre.

But the four sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the death toll stood at around 30, making it one of the deadliest single attacks in Burkina Faso in the past year or more.