At least 138 dead in the bloodiest attacks in Burkina Faso since 2015

An armed attack perpetrated by unidentified individuals on Friday night in the village of Solhan, in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, caused the death of at least 138 civilians, according to military sources, before which the Government today declared a duel of 72 hours. This is the bloodiest episode recorded in this African country since the start of a wave of jihadist violence in 2015.

According to a provisional report from a police detachment in the commune of Sebba, on the border with Niger, houses and the Solhan market were also burned in said attack, and the number of fatalities could increase in the coming hours.

“A national mourning of 72 hours, from 00:00 on Saturday June 5 to 24 hours on Monday the 7th is established throughout the national territory in memory of the deceased,” the Government announced today in a statement.

Burkina Faso has been under jihadist attacks since April 2015, when members of an al Qaeda-affiliated group kidnapped a Romanian security guard at a Tambao manganese mine in the north of the country, who is still missing.

The region most affected by insecurity is the Sahel, located in the north and sharing a border with Mali and Niger, although insecurity has been spreading to neighboring provinces, and since the summer of 2018 it has also affected the east of the country.

The terrorist acts are attributed to the local Burkinabe group Ansarul Islam, the Sahelian jihadist coalition Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), which are also attacking in Mali and Niger.

As a result of the violence, Burkina Faso is experiencing the fastest growing displacement crisis in the world, with more than one million people displaced from their homes (more than one for every 20 inhabitants).