At least 10 civilians are killed in an attack on a market in Burkina

Suspected jihadists killed at least 10 civilians at a market in northern Burkina Faso over the weekend, security officials and locals said AFP on Tuesday.

The West African country has been hit by a jihadist insurgency that erupted from neighboring Mali in 2015.

Thousands of civilians, troops and police were killed, and anger within the military over rising casualties sparked two coups in 2022.

“Sunday was a black day for Manni,” said a resident of the town in Gnagna province.

“In the evening, terrorists attacked the city, causing death and destruction.”

“It is difficult to give an exact number, but at least ten people died and more than 50 wounded were taken to the Manni medical center,” the local said.

Another local said the attackers directly targeted the market.

“When they appeared, they opened fire and caused general panic. Then they looted shops and set the whole place on fire,” he said, adding that he feared the number of victims would be “enormous given the scale of the attack.”

“The hospital is overwhelmed and the wounded had to be cared for in the yard,” he continued.

Videos circulated on social media purporting to show medical staff tending to injured people in a courtyard, supposedly the Manni Hospital.

An anonymous security official said this AFP there had been a “jihadist attack”.

“Combat troops are deployed in the area,” he added, without giving details.

“Kill indiscriminately”

In keeping with its policy for months, the military junta that rules the West African country did not provide any official information about the victims of the violence.

The junta promised to make fighting “terrorists” a priority when it seized power in 2022.

According to the NGO Acled, which collects information on reported political violence and protests around the world, more than 26,000 people have reportedly been killed in armed attacks in Burkina since 2015, more than 6,000 of them this year.

On Saturday, the day before the Manni attack, junta chief Ibrahim Traore had a lengthy question-and-answer session with callers from the public broadcaster.

“We are in conflict with armed bandits who kill indiscriminately. We don’t want reconciliation with them. We will fight until they themselves raise the white flag,” he said.

Burkina suffered its worst attack ever recorded in late August when gunmen reportedly killed hundreds of civilians and security personnel near the northern village of Barsalogho.

An al-Qaida-linked group, known by its Arabic initials JNIM, claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed more than 400 civilians, according to a group representing the victims’ families.

A security source from France, the former colonial power, said about 600 civilians had died.

The victims’ families have accused military officials of exposing them to their killers by forcing them to leave their village to dig an army trench two miles away.

Videos are circulating on social media that purport to show gunmen firing automatic weapons into a ditch containing at least 91 bodies.

Traore said on Saturday that an investigation into the Barsalogho attack was underway, adding: “Those responsible will be identified in a few days.”