“Dozens” of people were killed today in an attack allegedly carried out by jihadists in Contiel, a community in the province of Komandzari in eastern Burkina Faso, security sources said.

One of these sources told the French Agency that a large number of gunmen launched an attack on Contiel in the morning. A local member of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), a group of civilians fighting alongside security forces, confirmed the attack, referring to a “very heavy toll” and “at least 20-30 dead”.

“The toll is temporary because the residents left the village,” said a VDP member from the Futuri community. He said there were “some 30 dead, men and women” and about 20 injured, many of them in critical condition. “This massacre could have been avoided,” he said, because several days ago “there was an alert for the presence of terrorists” in the area. Some jihadists had threatened the villagers, accusing them of reporting them to the authorities or to volunteers fighting against them.

According to the VDP member, the attack took place early in the morning, when the residents were still at home. Dozens of men stormed the community and set fire to homes, while others openly shot panicked residents.

The attack, one of the deadliest in eastern Burkina Faso, comes a week after an armed ambush against a joint anti-poaching group that killed three Europeans – two Spanish journalists and an Irish environmentalist. 

Burkina Faso, a poor country in West Africa, has been the target of jihadist attacks since 2015, as have its neighbors Mali and Niger.

Also read: 26 jihadists killed in Mali after joint operation with French forces

Source: CNA