Thirteen People Killed In Attack In Burkina Faso Town Of Falagountou - Armed Forces

At least thirteen people, including 10 gendarmes, one civilian and two members of a self-defense armed group have been killed in an attack by armed militants in the town of Falagountou in northern Burkina Faso, the country's armed forces said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) At least thirteen people, including 10 gendarmes, one civilian and two members of a self-defense armed group have been killed in an attack by armed militants in the town of Falagountou in northern Burkina Faso, the country's armed forces said on Tuesday.

"Twelve combatants were killed, including two from the VDP (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, a self-defense armed group) ... One civilian also died," the general staff of the country's armed forces was quoted as saying by the Radio Omega broadcaster.

Five more gendarmes were injured and 10 are currently considered missing, the general staff reportedly added. The army also said it had found the bodies of about 15 militants involved in the attack, the news outlet reported.

Later in the day, the governor of the Cascades Region, Col.

Jean-Charles Some, said that the authorities had also discovered bodies of 15 other people abducted by armed militants last week.

On Sunday, the militants reportedly stopped two minibuses in southwestern Burkina Faso, dropping off 24 people. Nine of them were released, and the rest were abducted. The militants burnt the minibuses.

"As of the afternoon of January 30, 2023, at about 12 p.m. (12:00 GMT), 15 bodies were found in the village of Linguekoro, Comoe Province," the governor was quoted as saying by the Burkina24 broadcaster.

Bullet holes were found on the discovered bodies, the governor added, as quoted by to the news outlet.

Burkina Faso, located in Africa's Sahel region, has been struggling to contain a radical jihadist offensive that has been ongoing since 2015.