Three villages in Yatenga province in the north of the country were raided by armed men on Thursday morning.

A local resident said on Friday that 25 people were killed and many more wounded in the attacks on Pelle, Zanna and Nongfaire villages around 5 am (local and GMT).

Another resident said that the army and civilian volunteers chased the attackers who came on motorbikes.

A security source confirmed the attack and said that the death toll was “around twenty”. The source also said that they were looking for the attackers.

Another security source said that some of the attackers died after air support hit them in the Barga forest where they hid.