Death Toll of Seytenga Attack Rises to 86 in Burkina Faso

On Thursday, Burkina Faso's military government announced that its officials have recorded 86 deaths as a result of a terrorist attack against the town of Seytenga on Saturday.

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"We will do everything to find the perpetrators and make them pay the price," said President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, a lieutenant colonel who has led the country since the January 24 coup d'état.

The attack occurred about 10 kilometers from the border with Niger. According to figures from the National Council for Emergencies and Rehabilitation (CONASUR), over 8,300 people fled from Seytenga and other nearby towns to take refuge in Dori, the capital of the Sahel region.

After the massacre became known, the Damiba regime declared a 72-hour national mourning, which began on June 14 and ends on June 16.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has frequently suffered jihadist attacks perpetrated by groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The region hardest hit by violence is the Sahel, which shares a border with Mali and Niger, although jihadism has also spread to the Boucle du Mouhoun region since 2017 and to the eastern region of Burkina Faso since 2018.

In Nov. 2021, an attack on a Gendarmerie post left 53 dead. This event prompted great social discontent that translated into strong protests to demand the resignation of President Kabore, who was removed from power due to the Jan. 24 coup.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack and reiterated the UN commitment to continue to support Burkina Faso in its efforts to end insecurity. So far, insecurity has displaced 1.9 million people in this African country.