Militants kill 25 in attack on Burkina Faso cattle market

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - At least 25 people were killed in eastern Burkina Faso on Saturday after militants attacked a cattle market, regional authorities said.

The attack in the village of Kompiembiga in Est region was the latest incidence of violence that highlights deep instability in parts of Burkina Faso, which has been battling armed groups with links to al Qaeda and the Islamic State since 2017.

"The provisional death toll from this killing is 25 and several wounded," said Saidou Sanou, the governor of Est region, where suspected jihadists have carried out a number of attacks in the past year.

No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack.

The bloodshed follows the death of at least 15 people on Friday in an attack on a convoy transporting traders in northern Burkina Faso.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year in the Sahel nation, and over half a million people have fled their homes due to the violence, which has also fuelled ethnic and religious tensions.

(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Susan Fenton)