Suspected insurgents raid eastern Burkina Faso city, free prisoners

Scores of suspected insurgents raided a city in eastern Burkina Faso earlier this week, freeing prisoners, driving residents to cower indoors and causing major damage, local sources told AFP on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if anyone died in the attack on the eastern city of Diapaga, in the second major insurgent raid in as many days in Burkina.

The military-ruled West African country has endured a decade of attacks by insurgent groups, but attacks on cities are relatively rare.

Riding on motorcycles, scores of suspected insurgents swooped in on Diapaga on Monday, the sources said.

Gunfire

"There was gunfire for several hours, but we don't know if there were any deaths among the (civilian) population or the soldiers," a resident told AFP, adding that "people have been sheltering in their homes for two days."

"The terrorists... first attacked the military camp and the gendarmerie post before occupying various locations for several hours," the resident told AFP by telephone.

"They (insurgents) were the ones controlling the town because they were the only ones outside. No one dared to go out," he said.

A security source told AFP that Diapaga "was the target of a major attack by terrorists" that resulted "in significant material damage."

Search for insurgents launched

"An operation is under way to track down the terrorists and restore security in the city," the source continued, without providing further details.

Another resident told AFP that "the terrorists set fire to several public and private services before freeing the inmates of the Diapaga prison", which was holding several people suspected of insurgent violence.

Unverified propaganda videos, said to be of the attack and filmed by the insurgents, showed what appeared to be the release of inmates.

The attackers, "who arrived in large numbers on motorcycles", also vandalised public monuments and set fire to businesses and shops, a third resident told AFP.

Major raid

The attack came a day after another major raid attributed to insurgents.

On Sunday, hundreds of insurgents simultaneously attacked a military detachment and police posts as well as the town of Djibo, killing "several dozen" soldiers and civilians, security and local sources told AFP.

In late March, several dozen soldiers and civilian auxiliaries were killed in a suspected insurgent attack in Diapaga, which lies in an eastern corner of Burkina Faso that borders Niger and Benin.