“In this painful circumstance and as a tribute to the valiant VDP and civilians who fell in defense of the homeland, the president of Burkina Faso decrees a national mourning period of 48 hours, starting Sunday,” government spokesperson Alkassoum Maiga said in a statement.

The ambush is one of the deadliest single-day losses on the civilian militia to date. Last month, at least fifty-three people were killed by insurgents in an attack on a security post, prompting protests over the government’s failure to restrain the ongoing attacks.

While Burkina Faso was once seen as a harmonious nation of religious tolerance, a jihadist uprising has plagued the country as well as the rest of Africa’s Sahel region since 2015. Civilians are subject to grave acts of violence and human rights violations at the hands of extremist groups, who often target Christians, their leaders, and places of worship.

Source: Persecution.org