MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –
Source: The Holy See in Italian
Video of the assault released by JNIM
Lomé (Agenzia Fides) – The toll of the attack conducted on the night between 1 and 2 October in Fanworgou, a border town between Togo and Burkina Faso, is 19 dead. A commando of armed men attacked a contingent of Togolese soldiers charged with monitoring the border and protecting the workers of a local company charged with building a protective barrier to prevent the infiltration of armed groups present in Burkina Faso. The commando managed to overcome the barriers already built and attacked the patrols of the Togolese soldiers. They then attacked the hut where the workers were resting and destroyed some of the contractor’s equipment. There were 19 victims on the ground: 9 soldiers and 10 civilians. The injured are at least 8 civilians and 4 soldiers. The army intervened by sending reinforcements and armed helicopters. According to testimonies collected, the attackers included women and children. The attack has not been claimed but occurred about 4 km east of the one on 20 July this year in Kpenkankandi, which cost the lives of at least twenty-one Togolese soldiers, which had been claimed by JNIM (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims”), which had posted on its social media some footage of the attack taken by its own drone. JNIM, affiliated with Al Qaeda, which operates in the Sahel belt between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, is trying to expand its activities towards the West African states bordering the Atlantic Ocean, such as Togo. In the region bordering Burkina Faso, a state of emergency has been declared since 2022 to deal with armed incursions from the neighbouring state. The border areas of Togo and Burkina Faso and the latter with Benin have long been crossed by tensions linked to the presence of jihadist and criminal groups engaged in illicit trafficking (see Fides 6/10/2023). (LM) (Agenzia Fides 4/10/2024)Share:
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.