OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) -Seventeen soldiers and 36 volunteer fighters were killed in heavy clashes with militants in northern Burkina Faso on Monday, the army said in a statement on Tuesday.
The West African country has been battling Islamist insurgents, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, in its desert north since 2015. Attacks have worsened this year, making Burkina Faso the epicentre of violence in the Sahel region.
The latest fighting took place in Yatenga province, where the army has been trying to reconquer territory to allow displaced villagers to return home, the statement said. Operations are still underway in the area.
(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Estelle Shirbon)
