Over the weekend, 28 bodies were discovered in the northwest of Burkina Faso, the government reported, adding that an investigation was underway as suspicion arose over who may be involved.
In recent months, there has been an upsurge in attacks against security forces and civilians, particularly in northern and eastern districts bordering Mali and Niger, which are also facing jihadists.
“The administration was made aware of an event that occurred at Nouna… during the night of December 30-31,” a government statement stated late Monday.
Preliminary reports “suggest that there were 28 fatalities,” the statement stated, adding that anGovernment officials discovered 28 dead north of Burkina Faso. inquiry had been launched and urged calm.
The CISC (Collective Communities against Impunity and Stigmatisation) organization condemned the violence as “reprisals targeting civilians” perpetrated by armed civilians claiming to be members of the VDP auxiliary force and “freely engaging in organized looting and targeted abuses of the civilian population.”
Burkina, one of the poorest countries in the world, has already had two military coups this year by angry army officers.
Since 2015, the country in West Africa has been battling an insurgency headed by jihadists connected with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced about two million people.
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