2019 Fada N'gourma attack

Last updated
2019 Fada N'gourma attack
Part of Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
Burkina Faso location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Attack site
Attack site (Burkina Faso)
Location Fada N'gourma Department, Gourma Province, Burkina Faso
Date6 November 2019
Attack type
Landmine, mass shooting
Deaths37+ [1]
Injured60
Perpetrators Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (suspected)

On 6 November 2019, gunmen ambushed a convoy transporting workers of the Canadian mining firm Semafo near the city of Fada N'gourma, on a road to the firm's Boungou mine. At least 37 people were killed, and dozens more are missing or injured. [2] [3]

Contents

Background

Burkina Faso faced an uprising in 2014 leading to the downfall of President Blaise Compaoré later that year. Burkina Faso is a member of the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership and its commitment of peacekeeping troops in Mali and Sudan has made it a target for extremists in the region. [4] Until 2015, Burkina Faso had remained violence free despite violent events occurring in the northern neighbouring countries of Mali and Niger. Since then, jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State began their infiltration into the country from the northern borders followed by its eastern borders. The infiltration have also brought danger to the southern and western borders. [5] Since 2015, Burkina Faso has faced cross-border attacks and sporadic raids in its territory, the result of instability and unrest in neighboring countries. [6]

In the year 2019, ethnic and religious tensions increased as a result of the Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso. The effect is more prominent in the northern areas of Burkina Faso bordering Mali, with attackers often crossing the border between the countries. [7] According to the UN Refugee agency, in the last three months preceding October, more than a quarter of a million people have been forced to flee their homes in Burkina Faso. [8]

The gold mine in Boungou has come under attack before. Eleven people were killed in two separate ambushes in 2018. The first ambush, in August 2018, killed six people, including five gendarmes. After the attack, Semafo increased security at the Boungou mine. [9] In December 2018, five people including four gendarmes were killed when the lead vehicle of a convoy returning from an escort mission hit a landmine. [10]

Attack

The attack happened in the morning. The target of the attack was a convoy of five buses carrying gold mine workers heading to the Semafo gold mine in Boungou. The convoy was being escorted by military vehicles. The attack started when a military vehicle escorting the convoy hit a landmine. Shortly afterwards, gunmen approached the convoy and opened fire, targeting two buses carrying workers as well as the military escort vehicles. [3] At least 37 people were killed in the attack, not including any security forces who may have been killed while battling the attackers. A large number of people remained unaccounted for after the attack, [1] [11] with some survivors suggesting a death toll of over 100. One survivor said that he was one of only 3 survivors from a bus that initially carried over 80 people. [12] Of the dead, 19 were workers for the Australian mining company Perenti Global, with of its workers hospitalized. [13]

Aftermath

Semafo initially stated that the Boungou mine remained secured, and operations continued as usual. The company also confirmed that it was working with authorities to ensure the security of its employees and contractors. [14] After the attack, the company's stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 11 percent, to $3.49. [3] Shortly afterwards, Semafo suspended its operations in the Boungou mine. [15]

Related Research Articles

Endeavour Mining is a multi-national mining company that owns and operates the gold mines in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali. The company is headquartered in the Cayman Islands, operated from its corporate office in London, England and has cross listed on the London Stock Exchange in the United Kingdom, the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and Over-The-Counter in the United States. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Semafo

SEMAFO Inc. was a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa until 2020 when it was acquired by Endeavour Mining. The name SEMAFO is an acronym for "Mining Exploration Society in West Africa". Its headquarters were based in Montreal, Canada. The corporation owned and operated the Mana Mine in Burkina Faso, the third-largest gold mine in Burkina Faso, and reached commercial production at the Boungou Mine on September 1, 2018. The company was listed on the Toronto stock exchange, as well as on the Nasdaq OMX in Stockholm.

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) Sunni Islamic terrorism in Africa

The insurgency in the Maghreb refers to the Islamist insurgency in the Maghreb and Sahel regions of North Africa that followed on from the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002 to the present day. The Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qaeda to eventually become al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Algerian and other Maghreb governments fighting the militants have worked with the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began. While the 2011 Arab Spring affected support for the insurgency, it also presented military opportunities for the jihadists. In 2012, AQIM and Islamist allies captured the northern half of Mali, until being fought back less than a year later following a French-led foreign intervention, which was succeeded by the Sahel-wide Operation Barkhane. In Libya, the ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh has been able to control some limited territory in the ongoing civil war since 2014, amid allegations of local collaboration between the rival AQIM and ISIL.

Christianity in Burkina Faso

Christianity is a minority religion in Burkina Faso. According to The World Factbook in 2019, Christians constitutes approximately 30% of the population, with Catholics representing 23.3% and Protestants 6.5%. According to official government estimates in 2008 the percentages are lower: 23.2% are Christians. The exact percentages might be hard to accurately predict due to a high degree of Syncretism that occurs in the country between Christians or Muslims and Traditional indigenous beliefs.

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Islamist militant organization in Northwest Africa and the Sahel

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an anti-government campaign.

Al-Mourabitoun was an African militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Al-Mulathameen. On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group seeks to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger.

Operation Barkhane French military operation

Operation Barkhane is an ongoing anti-insurgent operation that started on August 1, 2014, and is led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region. It consists of a roughly 5,000-strong French force, which is permanently headquartered in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. The operation is led in co-operation with five countries, all of which are former French colonies that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel". The operation is named after a crescent-shaped dune in the Sahara desert.

2016 Ouagadougou attacks Terrorist attack on the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in Burkina Faso

On 15 January 2016, gunmen armed with heavy weapons attacked the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in the heart of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The number of fatalities reached 30, while at least 56 were wounded; a total of 176 hostages were released after a government counter-attack into the next morning as the siege ended. Three perpetrators were also killed. The nearby YIBI hotel was then under siege, where another attacker was killed. Notably, former Swiss MPs Jean-Noël Rey and Georgie Lamon were killed. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al-Mourabitoun.

Nineteen people were killed and 25 others were injured when suspected jihadists opened fire on a Turkish restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 13 August 2017. The attackers took hostages after being cornered by police and were killed in an ensuing shootout.

2018 Ouagadougou attacks

On 2 March 2018, at least eight heavily armed militants launched an assault on key locations throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Targets included the French embassy and the headquarters of Burkina Faso's military.

2017 Ayorou attack

The 2017 Ayorou attack occurred on 21 October 2017 when armed militants attacked a Nigerien military outpost in the village of Ayorou in southwestern Niger, killing 13 gendarmes. Occurring just weeks after a similar attack in the area killed four American and four Nigerien troops, the attack was carried out by gunmen who crossed the porous border from Mali. At dawn, militants in 4-5 vehicles and motorcycles and armed with machine guns and rocket launchers attacked paramilitary policemen in Ayorou, a small town on the banks of the Niger River 200 kilometers northwest of Niamey. Thirteen gendarmes were killed and five others were wounded. At least one of the attackers was killed as well. The attackers fled after police reinforcements arrived and pursued them to the border. A similar raid was carried out on the same outpost the previous May.

Terrorism in Burkina Faso Overview of terrorism in Burkina Faso

Terrorism in Burkina Faso refers to non-state actor violence in Burkina Faso that is carried out with the intent of causing fear and spreading extremist ideology. Terrorist activity primarily involves religious terrorism conducted by foreign-based organizations, although some activity occurs because of communal frustration over the lack of economic development. Recent attacks are concentrated in the Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Nord, Sahel, and Est regions, along the border with Mali and Niger. A series of attacks in Ouagadougou in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates was particularly deadly, garnering international attention.

The Sanmatenga attacks occurred on 8 September 2019 in the Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso. In the Barsalogho Department a vehicle transporting people and goods, that was returning from a market, drove over an improvised explosive device (IED). 15 passengers were killed and six were injured in the IED attack. Most of the victims were traders. Meanwhile, around 50 km to the east, a convoy with vans carrying provisions for people displaced by fighting was attacked by gunmen. In this attack, 14 people were killed. It is unknown who carried out this attacks.

The Burkina Faso mosque attack occurred on the evening of Friday, 11 October 2019 in a mosque in Oudalan Province, Burkina Faso which left 16 people dead and two injured. It happened while the residents were praying inside the Grand Mosque in Salmossi, a village close to the border with Mali. AFP reported that 13 people died on the spot while 3 died later due to the injuries.

The Dolmané gold mine attack occurred on 4 October 2019 near Madouji, Arbinda Department, Soum Province, Burkina Faso. The Dolmané gold mining site was attacked by suspected Islamic terrorists. The attack took place not far from where a bridge linking two northern towns was blown up in mid-September. At least 20 persons, mostly people that worked in the gold mine, were killed and an unknown number of people were injured. Both Islamic State and al-Qaeda have affiliated groups in the region. It is unknown which of the two was responsible for this attack.

Battle of Inates

On 10 December 2019, a large group of fighters belonging to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a military post in Inates, Tillabéri Region, Niger. They used guns, bombs, and mortars killing over seventy soldiers and kidnapping others in one of the worst attacks in the history of Niger.

In 2019 there have been many attacks in Burkina Faso on both soldiers and civilians.

On 3 May 2021 Islamic militants attacked Kodyel, a village in Foutouri, Burkina Faso. The attack left at least 30 people dead and another 20 injured.

Solhan and Tadaryat massacres Insurgent attacks in Burkina Faso

On 4 and 5 June 2021, insurgents attacked the Solhan and Tadaryat villages in the Yagha Province of Burkina Faso. The massacres left at least 174 people dead. Insurgents have been attacking the Sahel Region, along the border with Mali, since Islamists captured parts of Mali in 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 "37 killed in Burkina Faso's deadliest attack in five years". AFP. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  2. "At least 37 killed in attack on Canadian miner Semafo convoy in Burkina Faso". Reuters. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Canadian mining firm's convoy attacked in Burkina Faso, 37 dead". CBC. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  4. "Burkina Faso: Extremism & Counter-Extremism, Press Release". Counter Extremism Project. 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  5. "16 killed in Burkina Faso mosque attack: security sources". France 24. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  6. Reuters Editorial (2015-10-09). "Gunmen kill three Burkina Faso gendarmes near Mali border". U.S. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  7. "Gunmen kill 15 people in attack on Burkina Faso mosque". India Today. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  8. "Deadly attack on Burkina Faso mosque". BBC. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  9. "Six dead in Burkina Faso 'terrorist' attack near Boungou gold mine". The Defense Post. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  10. "Five killed in bomb and gun attack near Boungou in eastern Burkina Faso". The Defense Post. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  11. "Dozens killed in ambush on Canadian gold mine convoy in Burkina Faso". The Guardian. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  12. "'So many dead': Survivors describe terrifying Burkina Faso ambush". Reuters. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  13. "Nineteen mining workers contracted to Perth company killed in Burkina Faso attack". TVNZ. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  14. "Dozens killed in attack on Canadian mine workers in Burkina Faso". UPI. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  15. "Semafo suspends operations at Boungou mine after Burkina Faso attack". Mining.com. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2019.