35 civilians, 80 terrorists killed in militant attacks in Burkina Faso

About 35 civilians were killed, most of which were women, in a militant attack in northern Burkina Faso on December 24, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré mentioned in his tweet. Apart from this, 7 soldiers and 80 terrorists were also killed in the double attack on a military base and Arbinda town in Soum province, the army said. The President has declared 48-hours of national mourning following the incident as the attack is one of the deadliest in nearly five years of terrorist violence in the West African country. The country borders Mali and Niger and has lost hundreds in the attacks since the start of 2015 when militant violence began to spread across the Sahel region. 

Read: Burkina Faso Leader Says 14 Slain In Attack On Church

Burkina Faso Army Chief told the media in a statement on Tuesday that a large group of terrorists simultaneously attacked the military base and the civilian population in Arbinda.
The President added on Twitter that "this barbaric attack resulted in the deaths of 35 civilian victims, most of them women," and also praised the "bravery and commitment" of the defence and security forces.
Later it was confirmed by Communications minister and government spokesman Remis Dandjinou that 31 of the civilian victims were women and that twenty soldiers were injured.

Read: Burkina Faso Army Says 32 'terrorists' Killed In Two Operations

Burkina's struggle against terrorism

Dozens of terrorists carried out the morning raid on Tuesday which lasted several hours before armed forces backed by the air force drove the militants back, the army said. Though it is unclear who carried out the attacks, most of the attacks in Burkina Faso are conducted by both Al Qaeda and ISIS groups. Earlier the Burkina security forces claimed in a separate media statement that they had killed around a hundred terrorists in several operations since November. Yet about 37 were killed in an ambush on a convoy transporting employees of a Canadian mining company in November. Attacks intensify as the Burkina army is under-equipped and poorly trained, cite military experts to the media.

Read: Burkina Faso: 37 People Killed As Gunmen Ambush Mining Firm Convoy

G5 pledges to address the issue

Over 700 people have been killed and around 560,000 internally displaced in Burkina Faso as per the United Nations. The attacks are concentrated in the North and East of the country though Ouagadougou has been hit three times. Earlier this month. leaders of the G5 Sahel nations - Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger - held talks and called for closer cooperation and international support in combating terrorism. The issue roots back to armed Islamists revolt in northern Mali in 2012. The United Nations and French forces support the G5.

Read: Extremist Attacks Intensify At Mali, Burkina Faso Border

(With inputs from Associated Press)