Washington, D.C. – In a series of devastating attacks that shook Burkina Faso’s northern Yatenga province, approximately 170 individuals were reportedly killed, according to the regional public prosecutor, Aly Benjamin Coulibaly. The assaults, which occurred on February 25, targeted the villages of Komsilga, Nodin, and Soroe. While the exact number of injured remains undisclosed, the prosecutor has urged the public to provide any information that could aid in the investigation.
The identity of the perpetrators has not been revealed, and the authorities have not confirmed the death toll from concurrent attacks on religious sites in the country’s north and east. These attacks claimed the lives of at least 15 Muslims and 15 Catholics, as reported by the Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB).
The European Union has denounced the violence and expressed support for Burkina Faso, a nation struggling with poverty and escalating aggression from Islamist militants with ties to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The conflict, which originated in Mali in 2012, has since spread to the Sahel region, rendering vast territories of Burkina Faso’s north and east ungovernable. The persistent threat of raids has forced millions to abandon their homes, and the death toll continues to rise as the nation confronts this relentless terror.
