Burkina Faso seeks to boost army numbers

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00:00Burkina Faso is ramping up recruitment to the army to try and better counter an ongoing insurgency.

00:05The pushback though has been a struggle. Just last week dozens of troops were killed

00:10in an extremist ambush. Our regional correspondent tells us more.

00:16For now no one has claimed responsibility for this last ambush of Burkina Bay army.

00:22What we do know is that soldiers came under a big fire from dozens of men as they were returning

00:30from a humanitarian mission in Diapaga in the east part of Burkina Faso. At least 100 troops

00:38were killed allegedly in this attack. About half of the country is now outside of government

00:45control and over the last few months terror group JNIM tightened its grip and attacks on the north

00:52and the east. Extremists have increasingly posted videos and images they claim are of soldiers that

00:59they have killed or kidnapped. Last week's raid is one of the most deadly this year. Civilians

01:05are also under pressure from this insurgency. Over the last few years thousands of people have fled

01:12the east part of Burkina Faso and crossed the border into Niger. A journey very dangerous in itself.

01:24There is no security in Burkina Faso. Those criminals keep killing people and soldiers can't

01:30reach villages anymore. We don't know when it's going to get better because there are more and

01:35more of them. They are ruling things in my area.

01:43Burkinabe authorities have said little about the Diapaga attack. Officials have been

01:48also very cagey about the circumstances of an assault on a military base in Mansila in June

01:56in which at least 100 soldiers were killed. 2024 could be one of the most difficult

02:03years for the Burkinabe army since the Islamist rebellion began in 2015.

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