Eleven gendarmes killed in attack in northern Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, June 10 (Reuters) – Eleven gendarmes were killed on Thursday evening in northern Burkina Faso when gunmen attacked a gendarmerie post, the army said in a statement on Friday.

Burkina Faso, like neighboring Mali and Niger, is confronted with violence from armed groups, some of which are affiliated with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State organization.

Thursday night’s attack targeted a gendarmerie post in Seytenga, Séno province, the army said. Gendarmes tried to repel the assault but were outnumbered, she added.

Also on Thursday, four gendarmes were killed in another attack in the western province of Kossi, while an attack on a gold mine in the north left two dead, the army said. (Report Anne Mimault and Thiam Ndiaga, written by Nellie Peyton, French version Bertrand Boucey, edited by Kate Entringer)