OUAGADOUGOU - The head of the military junta has said he aims to recapture 40% of the country's territory, as the deadly insurgency continues.
Burkina Faso's military junta declared Thursday a "general mobilisation" to give the state "all necessary means" to combat a string of jihadist attacks since the start of this year.
The goal is to create a "legal framework for all the actions to be taken" against the insurgents, a statement from the presidency said.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso's transitional president who staged the most recent coup on September 30, has set a goal of recapturing 40% of the country's territory, which is controlled by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Last week, 44 civilians were reported killed by "armed terrorist groups" in two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border.
It was one of the deadliest attacks against civilians since Traoré came to power last September, after 51 soldiers were killed in February in an attack on Deou, in the far north of the country.
