At least a hundred and sixty (160) people have been killed after gunmen raided the Burkina Faso village of Solhan over the weekend, in what has been described as one of the worst militant attacks in years.
Solhan which is a big village with more than 30,000 residents, is at a crossroads where people from various tribes and nationalities live together in search of gold.
According to the BBC, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack along the border regions with Niger and Mali which has become increasingly common.
Burkina Faso’s President Roch Kabore, declared a 72-hour national mourning period following the killings, which included 20 children, and described the attack as “barbaric” in a tweet, adding that “we must stand united against the forces of evil”.
“The large numbers of attackers arrived on around 20 motorcycles around 2am,” said Hamadi Boubacar, the Mayor of the neighboring town of Sebba.
“They mainly attacked the mining site, adjacent to the village of Solhan… The attackers were ruthless and killed anyone they saw in their path,” he said.
The country faces a security crisis as armed groups continue to carry out raids and kidnappings. Last Friday, 14 people were reportedly killed 150km north of Solhan, and 30 others in an attack in the east, last month.
