Burkina Faso Hands Life Sentences to 13 in Terrorism Cases

Burkina Faso Hands Life Sentences to 13 in Terrorism Cases
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Burkina Faso has sentenced 13 people to life imprisonment for terrorism-related offenses, including involvement in a 2018 attack on the French embassy, media outlets reported. More than 60 others received lesser prison terms following hearings held between January and July, according to the country’s specialist anti-terror judicial office.

The statement said 63 individuals were given sentences ranging from 10 to 21 years, while two others received one- and three-year terms. In the March 2018 twin attack, gunmen and a car bomb targeted the French embassy and the military headquarters in Ouagadougou, killing eight people and injuring dozens.

Prosecutor Lafama Prosper Thiombiano said six defendants were sentenced in connection with the embassy and headquarters assault—three receiving life terms and three others 21-year sentences. Burkina Faso has faced extremist violence for nearly a decade, with the conflict killing over 26,000 people, both civilians and soldiers, since 2015, according to monitoring group ACLED.