• The government says that a suspected jihadist attack in Burkina Faso killed 11 soldiers and left 50 civilians missing.
• The area is in the middle of a jihadist crisis that has killed thousands and forced more than two million people to leave their homes.
• No one has yet taken credit for the attack.

The government says that a suspected jihadist attack in Burkina Faso killed 11 soldiers and left 50 civilians missing.

On Monday, an ambush was set up to attack a group of trucks carrying supplies to the town of Djibo in the north.

AFP says that the government said it was a “barbaric attack.”

The area is in the middle of a jihadist crisis that has killed thousands and forced more than two million people to leave their homes.

The military, led by Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, took power in a coup in January. They said they would end the 2015 Islamist uprising, but violence is still going on.

Lt. Col. Damiba had been at the forefront of the country’s fight against Islamist militants. He even wrote a book about it last year called West African Armies and Terrorism: Uncertain Responses?

This is not the first time this month that someone has tried to attack a supply convoy. On September 5, at least 35 civilians were killed and 37 were hurt when another convoy hit an improvised explosive device on a main road that also led to the north of the country.

Authorities say that the attack on Monday, for which no one has yet taken credit, caused a lot of damage to property and hurt 28 people, including 20 soldiers, one Volunteer for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), and seven civilians.

Reuters says it happened in the Gaskinde area of Soum province, where attacks by jihadist groups with ties to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have been increasing.

Jihadists have also taken control of land and blocked off parts of the area where the convoy was going.

After failing in the Middle East, both the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda have decided to focus on the Sahel area of Africa.

The Sahel is a strip of semi-arid land that runs from east to west across the continent. It is just below the Sahara Desert. It is made up of parts of the countries of Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.

Since 2013, French troops have been trying to help the armies in the area fight militants.

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