The death toll from the worst militant attack in Burkina Faso in recent years has risen to 132, the government said on Saturday, after armed assailants laid siege overnight to a village in the jihadist-plagued northeast. The attackers struck during the night on Friday, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province, bordering Niger. Attacks by jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in West Africa's Sahel region have risen sharply since the start of the year, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with civilians bearing the brunt. The violence in Burkina Faso has displaced more than 1.14 million people in just over two years, while the poor, arid country is hosting some 20,000 refugees from neighbouring Mali. The latest attack pushes the number killed by armed Islamists in the Sahel region to over 500 since January, according to Human Rights Watch's West Africa director, Corinne Dufka.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 05, 2021 20:03 UTC