At least 15 Burkinabé soldiers and military auxiliaries died on Wednesday in an attack in the north of the country, three security sources said on Thursday.
The attack, which took place in the North-Central region of the West African country, was carried out by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The armed assailants have not been identified, the source said.
A source said that the soldiers were guarding the water pipelines that the group blocked in many parts of the northern and eastern part of the country which is often destroyed.
Insurgents there are digging up roads, surrounding villages, destroying water facilities and disrupting efforts to deliver food and aid to stranded civilians.
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Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries battling a violent Islamist group that took root in neighboring Mali and spread to the region over the past decade.
Thousands of people have killed more than two million people in the Sahel and sub-Saharan regions.
Frustration over the government’s inability to restore security has led to two military coups in Burkina Faso and two in Mali since 2020.
