NEW YORK — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned a weekend attack in Burkina Faso that left dozens of civilians dead and displaced scores more, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night when armed men launched an assault on the town of Seytenga, located in the Sahel region in the north of the country.

At least 79 people were killed, according to media reports.

“The Secretary-General calls on the Burkinabè authorities to spare no effort in identifying and bringing the perpetrators of this attack to justice,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.

The UN chief has expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and to the people of Burkina Faso.

He has also reiterated the UN’s commitment to continue to support the country in its efforts to end insecurity and foster social cohesion.

Seytanga had already suffered a militant attack on Thursday which killed 11 military police, according to media reports.

Speaking earlier this month, the Secretary-General stated that the terrorism threat in Africa is increasing.

Extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Da’esh, and their affiliates, are continuing to grow in the Sahel region and are making inroads into Central and Southern Africa.

“They are exploiting power vacuums, longstanding inter-ethnic strife, internal weaknesses and state fragilities,” he said in remarks to a counter-terrorism meeting, held in New York. — UN News