Al Qaeda affiliate kills ‘200’ Burkina Faso soldiers

Burkina Faso military

The Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an affiliate of Al Qaeda, says 200 soldiers were killed during an attack on a Burkina Faso military base.

The base in the northern town of Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, with hundreds of fighters overrunning and destroying it, security sources told Reuters at the time.

A police station and market were also targeted, they said.

On Tuesday, the SITE Intelligence Group, a United States based non-governmental organisation which tracks online activities of Islamist militants, said JNIM had taken credit for the assault.

At the time, the Burkinabe death toll was pegged at 60.

On Thursday, SITE said the terrorist group increased the death toll to 200, Reuters reported.

There has been no official government confirmation of the attack or the death toll.

SITE previously said Ousmane Dicko, head of JNIM in Burkina Faso, had appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo to leave the town for their own safety.

In recent times, militants have ramped up attacks in Sahelian countries as the government continues to grapple with a renewed insurgency.

Last week, JNIM claimed multiple attacks in Burkina Faso as Ibrahim Traore, junta leader, visited Russia where he met with President Vladimir Putin.

On April 24, the Benin Republic government  JNIM killed 54 soldiers.Thecable