OUAGADOUGOU, June 5

Armed assailants killed around 100 civilians in an overnight raid on a village in northern Burkina Faso, the government said on Saturday, as the region faces a worsening wave of jihadist violence. The provisional death toll given by the government made it the country’s deadliest attack in recent years.

The attackers struck during the night on Friday, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province bordering Niger. They also burnt homes and a market, the government said in a statement. The government, declaring a 72-hour period of national mourning, described the attackers as terrorists but no group claimed responsibility.

Attacks by jihadists linked to Al-Qaida and the Islamic State in West Africa’s Sahel region have risen sharply since the start of the year. — Reuters