At least 51 soldiers were killed when their unit was ambushed in northern Burkina Faso on Friday, the army said on Monday, one of the highest reported death tolls from a single attack since the area became a hotbed of jihadist activity.

The incident occurred two days before France officially marked the end of its military operations in the West African nation, where in 2015 some 400 French special forces had been sent to help fight an insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali.

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