<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">At least 44 people were killed by Islamic extremists in multiple attacks in northern Burkina Faso, the government said Saturday.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jihadis attacked Kourakou and Tondobi villages in Seno province, said Lt. Col. P.F Rodolphe Sorgho, governor of the Sahel region in a statement. Sorgho called the attacks on Thursday and Friday “despicable and barbaric” and said the government was stabilizing the area. He called on people to remain calm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The West African nation has been overrun by jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's killed thousands and displaced 2 million people over six years. Fighting has frustrated and divided a once peaceful population, leading to two military coups last year with each junta leader vowing to stem the attacks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the violence is intensifying and spreading as jihadis blockade villages, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from moving freely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In February, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for killing more than 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage, in an ambush on a military convoy in the north. A few weeks before that, jihadis killed at least 32 people, including soldiers and civilians, in multiple attacks across the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The violence has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the country's history, forcing one in five citizens —some 4.7 million people — to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. AP/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>