Thus, the death toll has been further adjusted upwards. It was first reported that at least 100 had been killed.
A local elected official said on Sunday that a total of 160 have been laid in three mass graves, and that there are around 20 children among the dead. The number is confirmed by another local source.
It is believed that militant Islamists were behind the attack on the village of Solhan in the north of the country, near the border with Mali and Niger, but the identity and motive of the attackers is still unclear.
The village is located in the province of Yagha in the Sahel region, where several different groups are active. Several of them have sworn allegiance to either al-Qaeda or IS.
Liquidations
The attackers first attacked the positions of the local self-defense force VDP.
They then raided civilian homes and began pure liquidations, according to a local source. Both homes and a market in the city were set on fire.
So far, there have been no figures on how many were injured in the attack, apart from the fact that there are several tens. A local source told AFP earlier Sunday that several of the injured had lost their lives from the injuries.
Authorities in Burkina Faso on Saturday declared three days of national mourning. In addition to the attack on Solhan, an attack on the city of Tadaryat was also reported on Saturday, in which unidentified people killed 13 civilians, according to the country’s security service. In addition, an armed man was killed voluntarily.
Shock and anger
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is among those expressing shock and anger over the attack, which is one of the bloodiest in Burkina Faso in recent years.
Guterres calls the incident cruel, and asks the world community to step up its support in the fight against violent extremism.
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore also condemns the killings.
“Barbaric and abominable,” said the president, urging unity.
The country’s opposition leader Eddie Komboigo, for his part, demands that all means be used to protect the country’s inhabitants.
– The massacre of our people must stop, completely unconditionally, he said.
Spreads
Solhan is located about 15 kilometers from Sebba, which is the largest city in Yagha province. The village has been hit by several attacks in recent years.
On May 14, Defense Minister Cheriff Sy and a group of top military leaders visited Sebba to reassure the population that life had returned to normal after a series of military operations to put down the rebels.
Burkina Faso has been under heavy pressure since 2015 to fight back against frequent attacks by several jihadist groups. The attacks began in the north near the border with Mali, but have since spread to other regions, especially in the east of the country.
Around 1,400 people have been killed so far, and more than 1 million have been forced to flee.
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