At Least 11 Police Officers Killed in Militant Raid in Eastern Burkina Faso
JNIM militants attack remote police post in Gourma province, killing 11 officers and forcing survivors to retreat
- At least 11 police officers were killed when hundreds of militants attacked a remote post in Balga
- The raid was claimed by JNIM, an Al-Qaeda-linked armed group active across the Sahel
- Surviving officers withdrew, and the fallen were buried on-site under new regulations restricting body transfers
At least 11 police officers were killed over the weekend when militants launched a large-scale attack on a remote police post in Balga, located in the Gourma province of eastern Burkina Faso.
Security sources told AFP that several hundred fighters stormed the detachment. Seven officers died during the assault, while four more later succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack.
The raid was claimed by JNIM, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group operating across the Sahel, the same day it occurred.
Authorities confirmed casualties and some missing personnel, though details remain scarce. Under new regulations, the fallen officers were buried on-site, as transfers to Ouagadougou or other cities are now prohibited.
Surviving police officers withdrew to Diapangou after the assault, leaving the outpost deserted.
Burkina Faso’s military junta, which rarely shares information on such attacks, maintains that it has retaken much of the country. Nonetheless, violence continues to plague the nation, which has seen tens of thousands of deaths since 2015, according to ACLED conflict monitors.
