Attacks in Burkina kill 18 troops

Eighteen soldiers have been killed in Burkina Faso amid a surge of violence, 13 in a suspected jihadist ambush and five whose vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, military and security sources said.

They were the sixth and seventh attacks of their kind in the landlocked West African nation in under two weeks.

"A military unit carrying out a security operation in the eastern region was attacked about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Natiaboani on Sunday," the army said in a statement.

Security sources had on Sunday given a provision toll of 12 dead.

"During the fighting 13 soldiers were unfortunately mortally wounded and eight others injured," the army said, adding that several attackers had also been killed.

On Sunday evening to the south of Natiaboani, close to the borders with Togo and Ghana, "a security forces vehicle... hit an improvised explosive device (IED)," a security source told AFP.

"The incident killed five from the 31st Commando Infantry Regiment from Tenkodogo who were undertaking an operation. Two others were injured in the attack."

Another security source confirmed the death of five soldiers, including an officer, to AFP.

The rural community of Natiaboani lies 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Fada N'Gourma, the largest town in the Eastern Region that since 2018 has been regularly targeted by armed groups.

Fifteen youths were kidnapped during an attack on Friday in nearby Nagre, according to the country's information agency.

Violence has flared again in Burkina Faso after a period of relative calm after a military junta took power in January.

Disgruntled officers toppled elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore after protests over his handling of the bloody insurgency.

About two dozen civilians and a similar number of policemen or soldiers have been killed over the last 10 days.

Burkina Faso has been struggling with jihadist attacks since 2015, when militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group began mounting cross-border raids from Mali.

The violence has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced at least 1.7 million, according to an AFP tally.