At least four villagers have been killed and one person remains missing after unidentified gunmen attacked a community in northeastern Ivory Coast near the border with Burkina Faso, the country’s army confirmed on Tuesday.
The raid occurred overnight between Sunday and Monday in Difita, a small village located just two kilometres from the Burkinabe border, according to a statement by the Ivorian army’s chief of staff, General Lassina Doumbia.
“The toll is four farmers killed, one resident missing, a woman seriously burnt,” Doumbia said, noting that several huts were torched and livestock stolen during the incursion.
Security forces were quickly deployed to the area, with both air and ground units dispatched. However, the attackers had already fled before troops arrived, the army added.
The incident marks the first fatal attack in Ivory Coast since 2021. In June 2020, 14 soldiers were killed in Kafolo, and another two soldiers lost their lives in March 2021.
Earlier this month, Defence Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara acknowledged the country’s security concerns but sought to reassure citizens. “The situation is worrying but under control,” he told Fraternité Matin in an interview.
Ivory Coast shares a 600-kilometre (370-mile) border with Burkina Faso, where jihadist groups remain active. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent years, with both governments trading accusations of attempted destabilisation.
AFP
