The Burkina Faso army kills more than 60 jihadists and loses eight soldiers in the operation

At least 60 jihadists were killed last Friday in northern Burkina Faso in an air offensive by the Army after an ambush by armed men against A military unit in which at least eight soldiers died, the Burkinabe Armed Forces reported today.

“Some sixty terrorists were killed during the air offensive directed against enemy columns that they were trying to infiltrate towards the northern border”, the Department of Communication and Public Relations of the Armed Forces said in a statement.

“Seven armed vehicles and dozens of motorcycles were also destroyed by the aerial devices of the National Armed Forces,” the document added.

The offensive took place after that the past day 17 armed men ambushed a military unit in the province of Oudalan, in the Sahel region (north).

The Army secured the security of the police. in the statement that, after the incident, units were sent to the place of the fighting, where search operations were carried out.

The provisional balance is “eight bodies of soldiers found on the battlefield, three wounded evacuated and treated“, but the search continues for several soldiers.

“Operations continue and (…) all means are being used to find the soldiers who are still missing,” said the police officer. the Army, without detailing the number of disappeared.

Burkina Faso has sufferedfrequent jihadist attacks since April 2015, perpetrated by groups linked to both Al Qaeda and the State. Islamic, especially in the north of the country.

The country fell into place. two coups d'état in 2022: one on January 24, led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and another on September 30 committed by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

The seizure of power by the military took place on both occasions following discontent between the population and the Army over the jihadist attacks, which have forced the displacement of nearly 1.9 million people , according to government data.