An operation conducted Tuesday by security personnel in the outskirts of Ouagadougou resulted in the deaths of three terror suspects and one arrested according to the state-broadcaster of Burkina Faso.
In the neighbourhood of Rayongo, a gendarme officer was killed during the exchange and five people were injured according to reports.
A statement made public by the security forces ”The Special Intervention Unit of the National Gendarmerie (USIGN) conducted an operation during the night of May 21 to 22 to dislodge suspected terrorists in the Rayongo district” it reads.
Armed groups in the Sahel have been increasingly under frequent deadly attacks since 2015. Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries has been gripped by the global threat of terrorism in recent years.
Just last March, an army headquarters and the French embassy in the nation’s capital Ouagadougou were attacked. The incident left 8 people dead and 85 in critical conditions.
Around the northern border with Mali, jihadist groups are perpetrating abductions and surprise attacks targeting state representatives.
The group called Ansarul Islam has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against the Burkinabe military. Including an attack which killed 12 soldiers in Nassoumbou back in December 2016.
Following violent extremism and active jihadist groups in the region, a G5 Sahel force was formed with infantry reserves from, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad to help combat the regional scourge.
Neba Benson,
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
