CNN —Up to 600 people were shot dead in a matter of hours by al Qaeda-linked militants in an August attack on a town in Burkina Faso, according to a French government security assessment that nearly doubles the death toll cited in earlier reports. A series of coups across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger led to the departure of French and American forces. The Russian mercenaries summoned by the juntas to bolster their grip have instead left a vacuum in which jihadists have thrived, says the assessment, given to CNN by a French security official. A view of the town of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, where up to 600 people were killed by al Qaeda-linked militants in an August attack, according to a French government security assessment. CNN has reviewed videos of the alleged cannibalism that seem to show Burkina Faso soldiers dismembering and holding up body parts of apparent dead jihadists.

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