Accessibility links

Breaking News

Burkina Faso to 'Lightly' Arm Citizens After Terrorists Kill 36


FILE - A vehicle of the Burkina Faso Army patrols a rural area in the Soum region in northern Burkina Faso, Nov. 14, 2019.
FILE - A vehicle of the Burkina Faso Army patrols a rural area in the Soum region in northern Burkina Faso, Nov. 14, 2019.

Burkina Faso's Parliament voted Tuesday to provide local volunteers with "light weapons" after a terrorist attack on two villages left 32 civilians dead.

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack that the government blames on a "terrorist group."

"These repeated attacks on innocent civilians call for real cooperation between defense and security forces," a government statement said, as it called for a "frank collaboration" between civilians and security forces.

Suspected Islamic extremists attacked a market in the village of Nagraogo and burned it to the ground. Four others in Alamou village were also killed.

Militant attacks in what had been a relatively peaceful Burkina Faso have surged in recent months as Islamic insurgents spill across the borders from neighboring Mali and Niger.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG