Burkina Faso: How armed conflict cost lives in troubled African nation in 2021
Burkina Faso has been subject to deadly attacks that have accelerated the impending humanitarian crisis in the region. With millions being dislocated from their homes, and hundreds of people dying in the past six years, the UN has called for aid for this country.
Burkina Faso, the landlocked west African nation, reported yet another news of multiple killings with at least 41 people dying in an armed rebel attack in its troubled northern region.
A government statement said among the deceased were members of a civilian self-defence force known as the Volunteers for the Defence (VDF) of the Motherland that has been set up to support the army.
A Reuters report said the attack was the deadliest since mid-November when 57 people, including 53 gendarmes, were killed.
Like its neighbours Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso has been caught up in a spiral of violence since 2015, attributed to armed jihadist groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The fighting has left at least 2,000 people dead and 1.4 million displaced.
Here’s a list of some of the deadliest attacks that rocked the nation in 2021.
June: An estimated 132 lives were lost in northern Burkina Faso on June 5, 2021, when assailants targeted gold mines before attacking civic volunteers. Armed men killed women, children and men, indiscriminately and buried the bodies in three mass graves.
Hundreds of houses were burnt down as thousands fled for their lives.
September: A mining convoy attack in eastern Burkina Faso killed six persons and injured another seven. The convoy was returning from a gold mine and was on a stretch of road between the Sakoani and Matiacoali villages.
November: In November 2021, 56 military police and civilians were found dead in a fatal assault on the country's security forces.
December: The latest atrocity in Burkina Faso occurred when suspected jihadists killed 41 people. The ambush targeted a convoy of traders escorted by VDP near Ouahigouya, a town not far from the Mali border.
(With inputs from agencies)
