Armed men carried out the attack in the village of Barsalogho in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday, killing dozens of civilians and security personnel and wounding others, local sources said.
A group linked to Al-Qaeda known by its Arabic initials JNIM, one of several rebel groups active in the troubled Sahel nation since 2015, claimed responsibility.
The EU "condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack" in Barsalogho, which "left hundreds of victims, mainly civilians", Borrell said in a statement.
The bloc "expresses its solidarity with Burkina Faso and conveys its condolences to the families of the victims and its wishes for a swift recovery to the wounded", he added.
The insurgency waged by rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State has also rocked neighbouring Mali and Niger, killing thousands and displacing millions across the region.
Borrell said the EU expressed its "strong concern amid the worsening security situation in the country and the sub-region" and encouraged efforts to avoid an escalation of violence.
UN chief Antonio Guterres also "strongly condemned the terrorist attacks", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
The military-led Burkinabe authorities have not provided a toll and have stopped announcing civilian and military casualties in jihadist attacks for about a year.
But a group representing victims' families reported "at least 400 dead". One of its members told AFP they helped bury victims in mass graves that contained "more than 100 bodies".
A survivor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she lost her husband and a brother-in-law and that "we haven't finished burying the bodies".
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Burkina Faso, Carol Flore-Smereczniak, said two humanitarian workers were among those killed.
Burkina victims' families criticize army over jihadist massacre
Abidjan (AFP) Aug 27, 2024 -
Families of Burkina Faso civilians killed in a massacre have accused the army of exposing them to their jihadist killers by making them leave their village to dig a trench.
Armed men carried out the attack in the village of Barsalogho in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday, killing dozens of civilians and security personnel, local sources said.
A group linked to Al-Qaeda, known by its Arabic initials JNIM, claimed responsibility and said it had seized control of a local militia headquarters.
A group representing victims' families, the Justice Collective for Barsalogho, said in a statement seen by AFP on Tuesday that Burkina Faso military officials had "obliged people, through threats, to take part in construction work, against their will".
It said they forced the locals to dig a trench three kilometres (1.9 miles) from the village for forces to use in fighting off the jihadists.
The collective demanded that investigations be carried out to determine who was responsible for the alleged order.
In two videos apparently documenting the massacre, circulated on social media and attributed by various sources to JNIM, assailants in military dress are seen firing automatic weapons at a trench containing at least 91 bodies.
Authorities have not given a toll.
A member of the collective, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals by the army, told AFP they helped bury victims in mass graves that contained "more than 100 bodies".
Jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged an insurgency in Burkina Faso since 2015 that has killed more than 20,000 people, according to the NGO Acled.
A security source earlier claimed that "the response of the soldiers" and auxiliary troops "made it possible to neutralise several terrorists and avoid a greater tragedy".
After taking power in a putsch in September 2022, Burkina's junta leader Ibrahim Traore vowed to make fighting terrorism a priority.
This year he issued a call to civil auxiliary fighters who are aiding the army to "mobilise local people to dig trenches to protect yourselves" until machinery could be delivered.
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