About 60 civilians were killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing military uniforms, the local prosecutor said late Sunday, announcing an investigation into the latest bloodshed in the insurgency-hit country, Report informs, citing Bangkok Post.
Landlocked and in the heart of West Africa's Sahel, the country is one of the world's most volatile and impoverished. Attacks blamed on suspected jihadists are on the rise in Burkina Faso, battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali.
"About 60 people were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces" on Thursday in the village of Karma, in northern Yatenga province, Ouahigouya High Court prosecutor Lamine Kabore told AFP in a statement, citing the gendarmerie.
"The wounded have been evacuated and are currently being taken care of within our health facilities," he said, adding that the perpetrators had "taken various goods".
The latest bloodshed occurred a week after 34 defense volunteers and six soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists near the village of Aorema, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the provincial capital Ouahigouya and 40 kilometers from Karma.