In a tragic development, northern Burkina Faso witnessed a harrowing attack by a jihadi group resulting in the death of over 100 individuals, most of whom were soldiers, as reported by local residents and aid workers. These attacks, carried out on Sunday, targeted multiple locations, including a military base and the strategically significant town of Djibo which has been under siege for an extended period.
Sources involved in community dialogues and who wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons, revealed that Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadi organization linked to Al-Qaida and active in the Sahel region, has taken credit for the deadly assaults. Among those tragically affected was a student’s father who was killed during the incident.
Burkina Faso, governed by a military junta, continues to grapple with severe security challenges, making it one of the most affected areas in Africa’s Sahel region, a known hotspot for violent extremism. A significant portion of the nation is outside government jurisdiction due to ongoing violence, exacerbated by two political coups in the previous year. Accusations of extrajudicial killings by government forces have also surfaced amidst these chaotic conditions.
The coordinated attack, as described by the aid worker and Charlie Werb, an independent analyst familiar with the Sahel, began at 6 a.m. Sunday concurrently in eight different locations to distract the Burkina Faso air force. Djibo experienced the primary assault, where JNIM fighters initially seized control of the town’s entry checkpoints before targeting military bases, including the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit’s camp.
Werb, who analyzed online videos of the attack, noted that unlike previous instances, the attackers were able to operate for several hours without encountering resistance from Burkina Faso’s military air support. This development underscores JNIM’s increasing influence and extended reach within Burkina Faso, according to Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank. Nasr pointed out that the targeting of Djibo illustrates the extent of the group’s operational latitude within the country.
Experts have cautioned that the junta’s approach of escalating military actions, which includes the mass induction of civilians into inadequately trained militias, has further strained inter-ethnic relations in the region.