OUAGADOUGOU, Nov. 2 ( Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso's armed forces have celebrated the 59th anniversary of their establishment as terrorism and related-attacks are on the rise in the West African country.
The celebration took place on Friday under the theme, "sacred union of the population with the national armed forces in the fight against terrorism".
"We must not at any way falter, even less be discouraged or give in to any fatality," defense minister Shérif Sy said in his speech during the ceremony.
" Discouragement has no room in the heart of the Burkina Faso's soldiers", he said.
The celebration occurred in the presence of Burkina Faso's President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Burkina Faso is faced with a worsening security situation, mostly in northern regions, by almost daily terrorist attacks that have sparked a wave of panic in the country.
The situation caused the closure of 1,455 pre-schools, post-primary schools and secondary schools in 2019, affected 202,595 pupils and 6,276 teachers in six regions.
Since 2015, terrorist attacks have claimed the lives of over 500 people including 200 of armed forces soldiers and displaced thousands of others in the west African country.
