By Biodun Busari

The bodies of 28 people who were shot dead have been discovered in Burkina Faso’s north-western town of Nouna, according to Al-Jazeera on Tuesday.

A civil society group accused armed civilians claiming to be members of a government-backed volunteer force fighting jihadists for the killings which might have occurred at the weekend.

Read also:

Interpol arrests 15, rescues 90 in anti-human trafficking raids in Togo, Burkina Faso, others

Burkina Faso authorities has no authority to expel official – UN Chief

Ortom backs Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi

The government did not comment on the claim but said it was investigating.

“The government was informed of an incident at Nouna…during the night of December 30 to 31,” a government statement said on Monday.

Burkina Faso has been rocked by a decade-long insurgency that has displaced nearly two million people.

The military staged a coup d’etat to overthrow the government in the West African country last January, promising an end to attacks, but the violence has persisted.

The government, however, condemned the “unacceptable violence” and called for calm, pending the outcome of an investigation.

The incident had occurred at a time when the government had initiated the “mobilisation of the whole people for the unity of action in the fight against terrorism”, it added.

The government has formed the Homeland Defence Volunteers (VDP), recruiting civilians into its ranks to fight militant Islamists.

Despite large deposits of gold in Burkina Faso, which has 21 million people, the country is one of the poorest countries in the world.