The death toll from a weekend attack on a gendarmerie post in northern Burkina Faso has risen to at least 53, according to officials. The attack, near a gold mine in Inata, killed 49 military police officers and four civilians, government spokesperson Ousseni Tamboura said on Wednesday, updating a previous estimate of 32 killed. However, there were fears the toll could yet rise further as reports quoted local sources as saying that approximately 150 gendarmes were stationed at the facility. Sunday’s bloodshed in the northern Soum region was one of the deadliest to hit Burkinabe defence and security forces since violence perpetrated by armed groups erupted six years ago. It has provoked protests about the authorities’ failure to curb the years-long conflict that has killed thousands of people and forced more than a million people to flee their homes.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA