Burkina Faso and Niger have issued a joint statement saying their combined armies have killed 100 Islamist militants in two weeks of operations.
There’s no independent confirmation of the claim, which was issued a day after Burkina Faso’s president Roch Kaboré sacked his prime minister in the wake of angry protests about increasing casualties caused by jihadist attacks.
On Thursday, at least 13 members of a civilian militia fighting the jihadists were killed in the north of the country.
The volunteer force was created three years ago in an effort to stop Islamist violence from spreading. More than 250 of its members have been killed.
Dozens of soldiers and police have also been killed over the past year.
