Burkina Faso: Protest for “more security” after deadly attack in east

A number of thousands of people demonstrated Wednesday in Diapaga, in eastern Burkina Faso, to demand “more security”, three days after a deadly attack on a neighboring town whose death toll remains unknown.

“SOS”, “We also have the right to life”, “What is our fault for being abandoned?”, could be read on the numerous signs of the demonstrators who walked the streets of the town of Diapaga, in the province of Tapoa.

On Sunday, suspected jihadists attacked the town of Partiaga, in this province, killing several people, according to residents and a security source.

According to the governor of the region, Hubert Yameogo, who said an assessment would be drawn up “as soon as possible”, the “terrorists cowardly attacked civilians, ransacked and set fire to material goods”.

According to residents, the Burkinabe armed forces abandoned the town before the attack.

Wednesday’s demonstration aims to “denounce the inaction of the authorities during the Partiaga tragedy and demand protection and more security for all,” according to one of the protesters, Issa Lankoandé. “We are citizens of Burkina Faso and we cannot be left at the mercy of the terrorist hordes,” he added.

Burkina Faso has seen a resurgence of jihadist violence since the beginning of the year, with dozens of deaths – civilians and soldiers – almost every week.

Last week, the army announced a “provisional death toll” of 51 in an ambush targeting soldiers on February 17 in the far north of the country.

It was the deadliest attack since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in a coup in late September 2022.

And on Monday, at least 15 soldiers died, again in the north, near the Malian border, according to security sources.

The violence has left more than 10,000 civilians and soldiers dead since 2015, according to NGOs, and some two million people displaced.