An attack by unidentified armed men has killed four villagers and left another missing in northeastern Ivory Coast near Burkina Faso, the army said Tuesday, in the first deadly attack in the west African country since 2021.

Ivory Coast shares a border spanning nearly 600 kilometres (around 370 miles) with Burkina Faso, where jihadist groups are active across much of the country.

The incursion took place in the small village of Difita, two kilometres from the Burkinabe border during the night of Sunday to Monday, the Ivorian army’s chief of staff, General Lassina Doumbia, said in a statement.

The toll is “four farmers killed, one resident missing, a woman seriously burnt”, he said, adding that several huts had been set on fire and livestock taken.

The Ivorian army said it had deployed air and ground troops against the attackers, “who fled before the troops arrived”.

An attack in northern Ivory Coast in June 2020 left 14 army personnel dead in Kafolo.

Two soldiers were also killed in March 2021.

Defence Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said earlier this month that the country faced many challenges, including in matters of security.

“The situation is worrying but under control,” he added in an interview with the Fraternite Matin daily.

Ivory Coast has tense relations with its neighbour, junta-ruled Burkina Faso. Both countries have traded accusations of attempted destabilisation.

AFP