Dozens of Burkinabe soldiers and allied volunteer militiamen have been killed in attacks carried out by suspected jihadists, security sources said Tuesday.
One of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world, Burkina is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighboring Mali in 2015.
Nearly a third of the country lies outside state control, according to the government, which in response to the spiraling security crisis formed the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) — civilian volunteers who are given two weeks' military training.
They work alongside the army, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort duties.
"Terrorist groups attacked the village of Noaka" in the north-central region, "mainly targeting the VDP," a security source said, adding that "another attack targeted troops returning from escort duty in the Sahel region."
"Unfortunately, we have recorded several dozen dead, soldiers and volunteers," the source added, a report confirmed by a local VDP official.
"We lost dozens of men in Noaka and several are wounded. ... Several other fighters are still missing," he told AFP, adding that commanders would give a precise toll later.
'A massacre'
"It was a massacre that took place in Noaka," one resident said, adding that about 30 VDP fighters had been killed in the attack alone.
"The valiant fighters, backed by the army, also inflicted a heavy loss on the attackers," he said, adding that "several motorcycles and weapons were recovered".
More than 10,000 civilians, troops and police have died since the start of the jihadist attacks, according to an NGO count, and at least 2 million people have been displaced.
Anger within the military at failures to roll back the insurgency sparked two coups in Burkina Faso last year.
"The response of the forces allowed us to neutralize about 40 terrorists. Security operations and sweeps are underway in these areas," another security source said of the latest attacks.
The local VDP official also said that a smaller attack took place on Monday in Gayeri, in the eastern province of Komondjari, killing four members of the volunteer force.
Residents of the eastern town of Tanwalbougou had protested the same day against the upsurge in jihadist attacks, calling for supplies for their town, which has been blockaded by armed groups for several weeks.