Regional Prosecutor Reports on Deadly Violence as Security Situation Deteriorates.
A regional prosecutor in Burkina Faso has reported that about 170 people were killed in attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso a week ago. Aly Benjamin Coulibaly stated that the attacks occurred in the villages of Komsilga, Nodin, and Soroe in Yatenga province on February 25, with a provisional toll of “around 170 people executed.”
The attacks also left several others wounded and caused significant material damage. The prosecutor, based in the northern town of Ouahigouya, did not attribute the attacks to any specific group and has ordered an investigation while appealing to the public for information.
Survivors of the attacks, as reported by news agency AFP, described that dozens of women and young children were among the victims. These attacks are separate from other deadly incidents that occurred on the same day at a mosque in the rural community of Natiaboani in eastern Burkina Faso and a church in the northern village of Essakane. Authorities have not released an official death toll for these attacks, but a senior church official stated that at least 15 civilians were killed in the Natiaboani attack.
Burkina Faso has been plagued by violence, with about half of the country outside government control due to armed groups. The violence has resulted in nearly 20,000 deaths and displaced more than two million people in one of the world’s poorest countries, adding to instability in the region.
Anger over the state’s inability to address the insecurity played a significant role in two military coups in 2022.