Jihadists in Burkina Faso killed 35 civilians, almost all of them women, when they simultaneously attacked a town in the north and its military base in one of the deadliest assaults in nearly five years of jihadist violence in the West African country. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has been blamed on militants linked to both Al Qaeda and Islamic State groups. In Burkina Faso, more than 700 people have been killed and around 560,000 internally displaced, according to the United Nations. Prior to Tuesday’s attack, Burkina security forces said they had killed around a hundred jihadists in several operations since November. Attacks have intensified this year as the under-equipped, poorly trained Burkina Faso army struggles to contain the Islamist militancy.

Source: Punch December 25, 2019 07:30 UTC