Nineteen killed in attack in northern Burkina Faso

Unidentified assailants killed 19 people and wounded 13 others in an attack on and around the town of Arbinda in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, the government said in a statement.

Burkina Faso has been overrun by Islamist violence in recent months in which hundreds have died and over 150,000 have been forced to flee, as the influence of jihadist groups spreads across the arid Sahel region.