Local vigilantes in Burkina Faso attacked two villages mainly inhabited by ethnic Fulanis, killing 43 people and raising the risk of further inter-communal violence in a country that's already being destabilized by Islamist militant attacks.
The raids occurred Sunday in the northern Barga district and the death toll is provisional, a government spokesman said in a text message.
Clashes between farming communities and Fulani villagers have increased in West Africa in recent years, with Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali recording high numbers of fatalities last year in areas where the presence of jihadists has fueled tension between different ethnic communities.
To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Gongo in Ouagadougou at sgongo@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Chris Kay
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