• Attacks on security forces and civilians have intensified in recent months.
• The West African country has been the epicenter of a violent insurrection.
• Despite its vast gold deposits, Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries.

The bodies of 28 people were discovered in northwest Burkina Faso over the weekend, according to the administration, who added that an inquiry was underway as speculation over who was responsible grew.

“The government was informed of an incident at Nouna … during the night of December 30-31,”  the government announced late Monday. It also stated that an investigation into the matter had commenced.

The CISC (Collective against Impunity and Stigmatisation of Communities) NGO characterized the violence as “reprisals targeting civilians” by armed civilians claiming to be members of an auxiliary force who “freely engage in organized looting and targeted abuses of [the] civilian population”.

Attacks on security forces and civilians have intensified in recent months, particularly in northern and eastern districts bordering Mali and Niger, where armed groups are fighting.

Despite its vast gold deposits, Burkina Faso, with a population of 21 million people, is one of the world’s poorest countries.

Since 2015, the West African country has been the epicentre of a violent insurrection that has extended over the last decade from neighbouring Mali. Thousands of people have been killed in the Sahel region, and almost two million have been displaced and forced to live in improvised settlements.

The government’s inability to halt the attacks prompted two coups this year, with each military leader swearing to prioritise security.

However, armed factions are repeatedly cutting off swathes of its territory. The country’s east and Sahel areas have been the hardest devastated, with towns besieged by insurgents that restrict citizens from travelling freely.

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