Fight against terrorism: Burkina Faso declares general mobilisation

Burkina Faso's authorities declared Thursday (Apr. 13) a "general mobilisation" to give the state "all necessary means" to combat terrorism in the country.

The goal is to create a "legal framework for all the actions to be taken" against the insurgents, a statement from the presidency said.

Captain Ibrahim Traore, Burkina's transitional president has set a goal of recapturing 40 percent of the country's territory, which is affected by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Details of the plan were not disclosed, though a security source said it would include "a state of emergency for the affected territories".

The government announced in February a plan to recruit 5,000 additional soldiers to fight the insurgency in the Sahel.

Last week, 44 civilians were reported killed by "armed terrorist groups" in two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border.

"Faced with this security situation, the health of the nation depends on a surge of national spirit by all its daughters and sons in order to find a solution," Defence Minister Colonel Major Kassoum Coulibaly said in a statement.

The violence has left more than 10,000 people dead over the past seven years, according to non-governmental aid groups, and displaced two million people from their homes.