Suspected rebels kill 15 security forces in Burkina

Suspected jihadists killed eight civilian volunteers and seven gendarmes during an ambush in central-northern Burkina Faso, security sources told AFP on Friday.

The patrol was "caught in an ambush" in the Koumestenga area on Wednesday, one source said. "About 100 heavily armed men," staged the ambush, a second source said, confirming the death toll in the troubled region.

Several wounded men were taken to the regional centre Kaya for treatment. The number of attacks has been mounting and at least eight people -- aid workers, civilians and auxiliaries -- were also killed on Wednesday in two other attacks in central-eastern and northwestern Burkina.

One of the world's poorest nations, Burkina Faso has been rocked by a jihadist insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015. Thousands have been killed, more than two million people have fled their homes and around 40 per cent of the country lies outside the government's control.

Anger within the military at the mounting toll sparked two coups last year. The Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) supports the military in the fight against jihadists and has suffered heavy casualties.