The Government of Burkina Faso has declared three days of mourning following an attack that left at least 160 people dead late last week in the northern village of Solhan.
Following the news of Saturday’s attack, the Burkinabe President, Roch Kabore tweeted that they must stand united against the forces of evil.
“The attack is barbaric! The security forces are trying to track down the perpetrators,” he said.
On Sunday, a total of 160 bodies were recovered from what local officials in Solhan described as three mass graves, AFP news agency reported.
Homes and the local market were burned during the raid on Solhan in the early hours of Saturday morning.
No group has said it was behind the violence, but Islamist attacks are increasingly common in the country, especially in border regions.
The UN chief said he was “outraged” by the incident.
António Guterres “strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to member states in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll,” his spokesperson said.
In another attack on Friday night, 14 people were reported to have been killed in the village of Tadaryat, about 150km (93 miles) to the north of Solhan.
The extent of the carnage is not known because the number of dead and injured continues to rise.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although analysts say it could be the work of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
The attack is the deadliest since the conflict between Burkina Faso and armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group began in 2015.
This weekend’s violence follows a period of relative calm.
Last month, 30 people died in an attack in the east of Burkina Faso.
Africa’s semi-arid Sahel region has been hit by an insurgency since militants captured large parts of northern Mali in 2012 and 2013.
French forces have been supporting troops from Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the militants.