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Rebel fighters conducted separate attacks on Sunday and Monday, including 15 men killed after a minibus was stopped.
In two attacks by armed assailants in Burkina Faso, at least 28 people have been killed, including soldiers and civilians.
Several soldiers, two volunteers and a civilian were killed in a firefight in Falagountou, near the Niger border, on Monday.
After the attack, 15 assailants’ bodies were found.
An attack on Sunday left 15 men dead, including civilians, according to Jean Charles dit Yenapono Some, governor of the Cascades region in the south.
Two transport vehicles carrying eight women and 16 men were stopped by armed men, according to the governor. According to him, the women and one man were freed.
“We found bullet-damaged corpses near Linguekoro village,” the governor said.
There is a food shortage as a result of fighters blocking towns and villages.
There were at least 10 civilian deaths in two attacks in Dassa, a town located in west-central Burkina Faso, approximately 140km (90 miles) from Ouagadougou, according to AFP.
There are now more than a third of Burkina Faso’s inhabitants outside the government’s control. The frustration within the army over the handling of the security situation led to two coups last year. In addition to intensifying political instability, France, which has been fighting against armed groups in the Sahel region, has also strained relations with the former colonial power.
A crowd of protesters packed Nation Square in central Ouagadougou, holding signs reading “Down with imperialism”, “Down with French policy in Africa”, and “Forward for Burkina’s sovereignty”.
Inter-African Revolutionary Movement spokesperson Lazare Yameogo told the crowd, “We do not want any more foreign military bases on our soil.” He added, “We will remain vigilant until Burkina Faso is liberated from Western imperialism.”
French troops were ordered to leave Mali by the military government, and the last contingent left in August 2022.
A day after agreeing to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso, France has recalled its ambassador.
Several factors drove the decision to withdraw French forces from Burkina Faso, according to Rinaldo Depagne of the International Crisis Group think tank.
Defending the country and promoting a patriotic spirit are among the government’s priorities, as well as seeking new external partners in order to gain easier access to military equipment.
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Source: Aljazeera
