At least 16 were killed in Burkina Faso army base attack

At least 12 soldiers and four paramilitary fighters were killed and 21 wounded in an attack on an army base in Burkina Faso’s insurgent-hit center-north on Friday, the army said in a statement.

The attack took place early in the morning at Burkina Faso’s Namissiguima military base in the province of Sanmatenga, Reuters reported.

The death toll was provisional and reinforcements were sent to secure the area, the statement added without providing detail on the assailants.

Terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL have carried out numerous attacks in Burkina Faso and have been able to gain control of parts of Burkina Faso and Niger.

The violence has already killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million to flee their homes in the Sahel region despite the presence of foreign troops and United Nations peacekeeping missions.

It was the fourth coup to rock West Africa in 18 months after two in Mali and one in Guinea.