More than 30 people in a town in northern Burkina Faso have been killed in three days of violence.
On Monday morning, armed militants killed at least eight people who were collecting water in the restive area of Arbinda, in the province of Soum, the mayor said.
The area has suffered several deadly raids by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that for years have sought to gain control over a swathe of arid terrain where Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger meet.
Mayor Boureima Werem said in recent weeks, apparent new tactics of the insurgents have been to target water towers and pump.
In separate incidents, nine people were killed in an assault on an informal gold mine in the province of Oudalan on Saturday, while 15 people, including 13 military police officers, were killed in Namentenga province on Sunday.
The unrest in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert that started when militants took over Mali’s desert north in 2012 has already killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million to flee their homes.
