At least fifty-three members of Burkina Faso's security forces have been killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in the north of the country, that has been condemned by the West African bloc, Ecowas.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Burkinabé army reported that seventeen soldiers and 36 civilian volunteers for the army died on Monday while repelling an unspecified "attack."
The unit had reportedly been deployed in the town of Koumbri in northern Yatenga province to help the resettlement of residents forced out of the area by jihadists more than two years ago.
A further 30 members of the security forces were also injured.
The security forces maintain that several attackers had been "neutralised" in a counter-operation and their combat equipment destroyed.
Operations are still under way in the area, according to the military.
#Burkina 🇧🇫 | ⚠️Terrible attack, On 04/09, during the night, between 3.47am and 9am, #JNIM attacked the #SDF detachment of #Koumbri near #Mali 🇲🇱.
— Djibril from WAMAPS (@WamapsENG) September 5, 2023
🔴 The toll is said to be 50 dead and 40 wounded on the SDF side.
🔵According to sources, the #FAMa intervened with air support. pic.twitter.com/Du5Q0lbtlR
Ecowas condemns jihadist attack
Burkina Faso saw two military coups last year, triggered – as in neighbouring Mali and Niger – by anger at failures to stem a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) condemned the attack.
In a statement, the regional bloc said it had learned "with shock" about the death of the soldiers and civilian volunteers, condemning the "terrorist attacks" expressing "solidarity with the Burkinabe people".
This comes as Burkina Faso was suspended from Ecowas after the military seized power.
In 2020, organized political violence in the #Sahel increased for the fifth consecutive year: https://t.co/bDVu1fvo20 pic.twitter.com/Nj8Q5fRx4G
— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO) February 27, 2021
Since 2015, more than 16,000 civilians, troops and police have died in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, according to a count by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project NGO.
More than 5,000 have died since the start of this year.
More than two million people have also been displaced within Burkina Faso, making it one of the worst internal displacement crises in Africa.
Old foes, new allies
The country's present leader is Captain Ibrahim Traoré – who took power in September 2022 at the age of just 34 – has promised a return to democracy with presidential elections by July 2024.
Nevertheless, relations between the junta and France broke down after the military takeover, prompting French forces that had been helping the under-equipped Burkinabé army to quit the country in January.
Meanwhile, just last week, Traoré held talks with a Russian delegation on development and military cooperation, while his foreign minister, Olivia Rouamba, held talks in Tehran with President Ebrahim Raissi on Monday.
