Burkina Faso Holds Three-Day Mourning After Deadly Army Base Attack - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (J.T)
August 23, 2019
Burkina Faso announced three days of national mourning from Friday to commemorate 24 soldiers killed this week in an attack on a northern military base, the deadliest such assault on the army as it battles jihadist insurgents.
PresidentMarc Christian Kabore said the mourning period, which runs until midnightSunday, is to be held in memory of the security forces who “fell following aterrorist attack” on Monday against the military base in Koutougou, in Soumprovince near the border with Mali.
Asecurity source told AFP that the attack, which also wounded seven soldiers,appeared to be “well-prepared and coordinated”, with several dozen militantswho arrived on motorbikes and pickup trucks and fired heavy weapons includingrockets.
Theperiod of mourning will include flags flown at half-mast on all publicbuildings, said the decree, which forbade public “celebrations and recreationalevents.
Aformer French colony that ranks among one of the poorest countries in theworld, Burkina Faso has been struggling with an Islamist revolt since 2015,which began in the north but has since spread to the east.