Burkina: 2 civilians and 50 "terrorists" killed in an attack in the north

Two civilians and 50 "terrorists" were killed on Wednesday during a "complex ambush" against the military escort of a food convoy in northern Burkina Faso, the army general staff said in a statement on Thursday.

"A unit of the 12th Commando Infantry Regiment (RIC), supported by the 2nd Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), energetically responded to a complex ambush on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in the vicinity of Tibou", a locality located in the province of Loroum, bordering Mali, indicates the Burkinabè army.

"The units, which were escorting a food convoy for the benefit of the people of Titao, were attacked by a group of terrorists whose number is estimated at around a hundred," the statement continued.

"The promptness and vigor of the response created a rout in the ranks of the terrorists who suffered very heavy losses. At least 50 of them were neutralized", assures the Burkinabè staff who specifies that "two civilians" who were part of the convoy were killed.

Burkina has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that appeared in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and which has spread beyond their borders.

The violence over the past seven years has killed more than 10,000 civilians and soldiers, according to NGOs, and more than two million internally displaced persons.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélem de Tambèla ruled out any "negotiation" with jihadist groups. He also indicated that the elections could not be held without the return of security in the country.

Burkina, which has experienced two coups in 2022, has been led since last September by **Captain Ibrahim Traoré.**The military must return power to civilians in July 2024, after a presidential election.