Burkina: at least 60 dead in Partiaga attack

"Sixty" people were killed on February 26 in a suspected jihadist attack in Partiaga, a town in eastern Burkina Faso, for which no official toll has been released, a defense movement said on Tuesday. human rights.

No reaction to confirm this assessment could be obtained by AFP from the national and regional authorities.

On the morning of February 26, "armed terrorist groups invaded the commune (Partiaga), killing, destroying property and carrying off livestock", indicated the Burkinabè Movement for Human and People's Rights (MBDHP).

"In the absence of any intervention by the security forces, the horror lasted all day, the VDP (civilian auxiliaries of the army) having been quickly overtaken by the events", continues the organization which also evokes missing persons. and deplores the absence of an official balance sheet.

Massive displacements

The governor of the eastern region where Partiaga is located, Hubert Yameogo, assured last week that the latter would be established "as soon as possible".

According to the MBDHP, the attack led to "massive displacement" of populations. He called on the authorities to "truly ensure their sovereign mission of securing the populations and their property".

After the attack, residents of Partiaga had evoked a "horror movie", explaining that the army had "abandoned the population". Three days after the attack, several thousand people demonstrated in the neighboring town of Diapaga to demand "more security".

Jihadist violence

Burkina Faso has experienced an intensification of jihadist violence since the beginning of the year, with dozens of deaths - civilians or soldiers - almost every week.

On Tuesday, in a statement to the press, the National Council of Civil Society Organizations (CNOSC), described "a serious situation" in several regions of Burkina Faso, particularly in the east where "the situation is most worrying".

Access by road to several provinces in this region is cut off by the jihadists and the capital of Fada N'Gourma is "almost surrounded". The same observation in Kaya, the capital of the Center-North region "gradually surrounded" by armed groups, according to the CNOSC.

In the North and Center-East, state services are closed while in the Sahel region, bordering Mali and Niger, "a tragedy" is emerging with a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation, continues the CNOSC.

Existential threat

"Every day the security situation is getting worse, threatening the very existence of our state," said CNOSC President Herman Doanio.

The organizations called for the rapid deployment of security forces and civilian auxiliaries "for a total reconquest of all localities under the influence of terrorist groups".

The violence attributed to groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) organization has since 2015 left more than 10,000 dead – civilians and soldiers – according to NGOs, and some two million displaced.