President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the government and people of Burkina Faso that Nigeria and the West African sub-region would not abandon them to their fate.
His spoke in reaction to Islamist militants’ killing killed 35 civilians, 31 of them women, in an attack on a military base and a town in Burkina Faso.
Seven soldiers and 80 militants were also killed as the army repelled Tuesday’s attack in Arbinda, in northern Soum province.
President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré had since declared two days of national mourning.
The president in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday said ”the slaying of 31 women among the innocent victims was cowardly and remains condemned by reasonable opinion all over the world.
He recalled his meeting last weekend with the country’s President, Roch Marc Christian Kabore on the sidelines of the ECOWAS meeting, where thet agreed to hold a summit in 2020 to discuss the issues of security and economy.
“I look forward to that meeting. As we have done all the time, we will stand with our brothers and sisters in West Africa in all situations,” he said.
Buhari commended the Burkinabe troops for repelling the deadly attack and prayed for the repose of the souls of those killed.
