At least 14 people were killed in two separate attacks by jihadist groups in Burkina Faso's north, including eight civilian army auxiliaries, security and local sources confirmed on Tuesday.

One of the world's poorest countries, Burkina has been struggling with a jihadist offensive since 2015. Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces have died and around two million people have been displaced.

Frustrated army officers have carried out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to control the insurgency.

"Armed individuals attacked the village of Safi early Monday," a security source told AFP, adding that six civilians were separately killed near Markoye.

A relative of one of the victims also told AFP that "the terrorists kidnapped three young people on the Salmossi-Markoye road, who were then found dead in the bush on (Monday)."

"They robbed several people... and carried away vehicles," the relative added.

The deterioration in the country's security situation has been used to justify the two coups this year. The first, in January, saw a military junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba overthrow elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

The second, in September, saw Captain Ibrahim Traore come to power as he and his supporters ousted Damiba.

Traore has been appointed transitional President with the declared aim of restoring huge swathes of territory held by "hordes of terrorists." More than a third of the national territory remains outside government control. The Burkinese authorities had started a campaign to enlist 50,000 civilian defense volunteers to support the army.

It is noteworthy that the UN warned in October that 4.9 million people, or a fifth of Burkina's population, are in urgent need of aid, citing the fact that many "mothers were compelled to feed their children with leaves and salt."

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