Gunmen Kill Four Villagers Near Burkina Faso Border Ivory Coast

A deadly attack by unidentified armed men killed four villagers and left another missing in the northeastern Ivory Coast near its border with Burkina Faso, marking the first such deadly incident in the country since 2021. The assault occurred in the village of Difita, where attackers also set huts on fire and stole livestock, prompting deployment of Ivorian air and ground forces, although the assailants fled before troops arrived. Ivory Coast, which shares a porous border with Burkina Faso—a country grappling with active jihadist insurgencies—faces growing concerns over the spillover of violence from the Sahel region, with neighboring countries like Benin and Togo also experiencing increased attacks. The attack may be linked to tensions involving Burkina Faso's civilian Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland, who support anti-jihadist efforts but are sometimes accused of abuses. Separately, in Burkina Faso near the Ghana border, a jihadist attack by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin killed four government militia members, highlighting the broader regional security crisis and the cross-border nature of jihadist threats. Burkinabe forces have responded with security operations along borders to combat the escalating violence and restore stability.