Militant attack toll hits 132

The death toll from the worst militant attack in Burkina Faso in recent years has risen to 132, the government said yesterday, after armed assailants laid siege overnight to a village in the jihadist-plagued northeast. 

The attackers struck during the night on Friday, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province, bordering Niger. They also burned homes and the market, the government said in a statement.

It declared a 72-hour period of national mourning, describing the attackers as terrorists, although no group has claimed responsibility.

The United Nations said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the attack, whose victims included seven children.