OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) - Burkina Faso’s government says gunmen killed at least 18 civilians over the weekend in an attack on the northern village of Lamdamol in the Sahel region.
Regional governor Col. Salfo Kabore said a newly appointed chief nurse was among those killed in Saturday’s attack. Security forces were searching for the gunmen.
Such attacks have increased in the West African nation as Islamic extremists gain ground in the north and are pushing east. The attack occurred less than a week after 39 people were killed in Silgadji in Soum province.
More than 110 civilians have been killed this year in attacks in northern Burkina Faso. France over the weekend announced it would send 600 more troops to West Africa’s arid Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert to combat extremists.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.