Capital of Burkina Faso at least 33 people were killed when gunmen opened fire on vegetable farmers in a jihadist-hit region of Burkina Faso, the governor said Saturday, as the country struggles to stem an insurgency.
A state of emergency has been in force in eight of Burkina Faso’s 13 regions since March, including in western Boucle du Mouhoun.
The attack on the farmers happened on Thursday evening around 5:00 pm (1700 GMT), Governor Babo Pierre Bassinga said in a statement.
“The village of Youlou in the department of Cheriba, Mouhoun province suffered a cowardly and barbaric terrorist attack,” he said.
“The gunmen targeted peaceful civilians” who were farming along the river, he said, adding that the “provisional death toll” included 33 people. Local sources said heavily armed assailants on motorcycles had fired indiscriminately on the farmers.
The victims were buried on Friday. In Cheriba, residents said three other people had sustained bullet wounds in the attack, and that the perpetrators had burned property before shooting. The governor said that security in the area was being enhanced.— INP
