The armed forces staffs of Burkina Faso and Niger have announced that about a hundred “terrorists” were killed during a joint operation conducted from 25 November to 9 December on their border, as the two countries have been faced with increasingly frequent and bloody jihadist attacks.

The operation allowed “about a hundred terrorists” to be “neutralised” and “about twenty suspects arrested“, the two staffs explained in a statement.

Four Burkina Faso army men were killed during the operation when an improvised explosive device exploded in the eastern part of the country, they explained, while 13 members of the armed forces of the two countries were injured.

In the framework of the operation, “several units” of the two countries‘ land forces were mobilised.

“Surveillance aircraft and fighters were also mobilised on both sides” of the border “to support units” conducting ground operations. The command centre was located in Tilaberry, in western Niger, according to the staffs.

“Two terrorist bases” were destroyed in the Yeritagi zone (eastern Burkina Faso) and in Kokolu (western Niger), always according to the statement, while weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices were seized.

Western Niger, eastern Burkina Faso and southern Mali form the so-called tri-national border region, which is infested by jihadists who launch frequent and bloody attacks.

The activities of jihadist organisations claiming allegiance to either the Islamic State (IS) or Al-Qaeda have claimed the lives of hundreds of people in these countries and uprooted part of the population.

In Burkina Faso, the lack of security, a problem that has been getting worse and worse, has caused indignation among the population and forced President Rock Christian Camboré to dismiss his government altogether on Wednesday.

Burkina Faso participated from 21 to 27 November in another joint operation, together with Côte d‘Ivoire, Togo and Ghana, countries neighbouring its southern part. In this operation 304 suspects were arrested, weapons and ammunition were seized.