At least 12 soldiers were killed in an attack on Monday, according to security sources. The military detachment of Yirgou, located in the commune of Barsalogho in the Centre-North region, was targeted by gunmen.
It was very early Monday morning around 5:00 a.m., according to our sources, that armed men launched an assault on the military detachment in Yirgou. According to the Ministry of Defense, it was a terrorist attack on the Burkinabe soldiers. “Faced with the attackers who came in large numbers and were heavily armed, the Burkinabe military showed great combativeness by responding vigorously,” said the Minister of Defense.
The assailants reportedly came on motorcycles and with pick-up trucks. As a result of the exchange of fire, at least fourteen soldiers were killed, and several wounded were recorded. All of the wounded were evacuated to the locality of Foubé, located about sixty kilometers north of the commune of Barsalogho, for treatment.
“An important batch of equipment” belonging to the army was taken away by the attackers, said a security source, without giving further details. Another source said that four pick-up vehicles, an ambulance, motorcycles, collective weapons and ammunition were taken by the attackers. They also set fire to a Cobra armored vehicle and other equipment before leaving the site of the military detachment, according to our sources.