Unidentified attackers have killed 40 people and injured 33 people in an attack on the army and volunteer defense forces in northern Burkina Faso, the government said in a statement today.

The attack took place yesterday in the village of Aorema near the town of Wahiguya in the Northern Region, close to the border with Mali, where Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have a large presence and carry out attacks. attacks for years.

It is not clear which organization carried out the attack. This comes nine days after militants killed 44 people in the villages of Kuraku and Todobi in the north of the West African country.

The report said six military personnel and 34 members of the volunteer defense unit were killed in yesterday’s attack. The government has urged citizens to join the local defense forces to counter eight years of violence that has left thousands dead and millions forced to flee their homes.

Unrest in Burkina Faso led to two coups last year by the military, which promised to regain control of the country but failed to stop the attacks.

The unrest in the region began in Mali in 2012, when Islamists usurped a Tuareg separatist uprising. Since then, violence has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger and threatens to destabilize coastal countries.

Source: RES