Over 70 civilians were killed by suspected Islamists in a raid on Seytenga village, in the north of the country during the weekend of the 11th of this month.

This is the latest attack since a military coup in January, when colonels angered at failures to roll back the insurgency ousted the elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

The country’s leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba vowed to hit back at the perpetrators, which he delivered because his military reported yesterday that they had launched a raid that killed 129 assailants.

This recent escalation of raids by Islamist linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group is a major setback for the military government in Burkina Faso because they forced their way to power accusing the elected government of failing to address the insecurity.

The conflict which also affects swathes of Mali and Niger is displacing rural communities and contributing to a severe shortage of food.