Suspected jihadists have attacked a camp for internally displaced people in northern Burkina Faso, leaving eight dead, local and security sources said Thursday. 

The latest attack in the troubled West African country saw armed men target the camp at Wendou, Seno province, late Tuesday night, a local official told AFP.

"Eight people have been registered dead and around 10 wounded," he said.

A resident, who also put the toll at eight dead, said the site had hosted displaced people for more than three years.

"The shooting lasted an hour," he said.

"The number of victims could be higher because several people can't be found.

"We still don't know if they were killed, abducted or managed to flee."

Some people at the camp have left since the attack, he said.

A security source said  measures had been taken to ensure the camp's security and residents' safety.

Burkina Faso is fighting a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015. 

More than 17,000 civilians and troops have died in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, according to a count by an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

Over two million people have also been displaced within the country, making it one of the worst internal displacement crises in Africa.