Burkina Faso militants kill 35 in separate attacks, government says

Sahel country has been battling armed groups with links to Al Qaeda and ISIS since 2017

The military in Burkina Faso have been battling armed groups with links to Al Qaeda and ISIS since 2017. AFP

Militants in Burkina Faso attacked a cattle market and a humanitarian convoy, killing at least 35 people, the government said on Sunday.

Saturday’s violence highlights the deep instability in parts of Sahel country, which has been battling armed groups with links to Al Qaeda and ISIS since 2017.

Twenty-five people were killed and more wounded in the attack on the market in the eastern village of Kompienga, while five civilians and five military police were killed near the northern village of Foube, the government said in a statement.

Armed groups targeted a humanitarian convoy returning from Foube after delivering supplies, it said.

Twenty more people were wounded in the convoy attack.

No group has claimed responsibility either incidents.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year in Burkina Faso. More than half a million people have fled their homes due to the violence, which has also fuelled ethnic and religious tensions.

The bloodshed follows the death of at least 15 people on Friday in an attack on a convoy transporting traders in northern Burkina Faso.

On Monday, eight suspected terrorists were killed and 38 captured in a joint operation by forces from Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast near the countries' border.

Twenty-four men caught in Burkina Faso and 14 in Ivory Coast were handed to intelligence services, a source at Ivorian army headquarters said.