Militants kill 15 Burkinabe soldiers and volunteer militiamen as they returned from a supply mission in eastern Burkina Faso, army says
Militants killed 15 Burkinabe soldiers and volunteer militiamen as they returned from a supply mission in eastern Burkina Faso, the army has said.
A further four soldiers were wounded in the attack in Gourma province, while 11 are still missing, it said in Sunday's statement. AFP news agency.Dozens of truck drivers are still missing. The authorities also launched a drive to recruit 50,000 civilian defence volunteers to back up the army as the number of attacks increases.Burkina Faso has been battling militants, some with links to Al Qaeda and Daesh, since 2015.
That assault helped trigger the latest coup in Burkina just four days later, led by young army captain Ibrahim Traore.It was Burkina's second coup in eight months, driven by a seven-year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes. The new government on Wednesday declared securing the Sahel state's territory would be the top priority.A UN envoy warned this week that 4.9 million people, or a fifth of Burkina's population, need urgent aid as many "mothers were forced to feed their children with leaves and salt".