The world’s two most substantial international blocs – the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) – both came out strongly against last weekend’s terror attack in Burkina Faso which reportedly left 200 people dead and a further 140 injured.
Al Qaeda-linked militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) is said by the UN to be responsible for the attack on Barsalogho in the landlocked West African country. JNIM is, the UN has it, one of a number of armed groups now in Burkina Faso having entered from Mali and contributing to “a major security crisis” with a pair of military coups in 2022.
The JNIM attack, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, happened as residents were digging trenches around the town as a protection measure.
In his condemnation of the “large scale attack” EU Vice President Josep Borrell said the majority of deaths were civilians with the same for those injured.
“The EU expresses its serious concern about the deterioration of the security situation in the country and in the sub-region. It encourages all efforts aimed at countering these cycles of violence and preventing any escalation.
“The fight against terrorism in the Sahel cannot weaken; the increased presence of actors responsible for violations of international law is not likely to strengthen an effective fight against terrorism,” the Borrell statement reads in part.
