Death toll from the assault near northern town of Gorgadji leaves 59 civilians dead, along with six militiamen and 15 military police

Burkina Faso’s president has declared three days of national mourning after suspected jihadists killed 80 people, including 59 civilians, in an attack in the north of the country.

The attack was the latest bloodshed in an area with high levels of Islamist violence.

Human Rights Watch suggests involvement of security forces in deaths over recent months

At least 180 civilians have been killed in recent months in a single town in Burkina Faso, with evidence pointing towards the country’s often-accused security forces, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Between November 2019 and June this year, groups of dozens of dead bodies were found often tied and blindfolded, strewn along major highways, beneath bridges and across fields in the rural region, the report published on Thursday said. Most of the bodies were buried by residents while the remains of others were left unclaimed.