Two police posts in Burkina Faso were attacked by terrorists on Monday night, officials said, just months after 12 soldiers were killed by militants in a raid near the Mali border.
It was unclear whether there had been any casualties from the latest attack, which took place in Soum Province in the country’s north, security minister Simon Compaore was quoted as saying by France24.
“The attacks took place almost simultaneously,” said Mohamed Dah, Soum police high commissioner. “Gunfire has ceased but the assailants are still at the scene. We’ve dispatched military reinforcements.”
“We’re trying to find out if this is a diversion tactic, used to (get us to) mobilize security forces and then attack more important targets,” he said.
Another security source, who did not wish to be named, said the attack at one post began when “a dozen militants arrived on six motorbikes”.
The incident comes with the capital Ouagadougou on high security alert, as it hosts the 25th Pan-African Film and Television Festival, with scores of cinephiles and international visitors in town.
Long spared the violence affecting several nations in the region, notably Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso has been hit by a series of attacks and kidnappings since April 2015.
