| 2023 Zorkoum attack | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin | |||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 14 killed | ~20 killed | ||||
On March 21, 2023, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked a Burkinabe base in Zorkoum, Centre-Ouest, killing fourteen soldiers and pro-government militiamen dead along with twenty jihadists dead.
Much of northern Burkina Faso has been the frontline of an insurgency waged by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara since 2015, with these groups intensifying their attacks on civilians seen as sympathetic to the government since 2019. [1] These jihadist groups had been known to invade towns near Kaya, including Zorkoum, multiple times over the past few years demanding zakat. [2]
The attack took place at a barracks for the VDP, a pro-government civilian militia group. [3] The unit had been responsible for providing security to workers fixing water supplies for the city of Kaya. [4] Four Burkinabe soldiers and ten VDP were killed in the attack, according to France 24 citing local sources. [4] [3] Around twenty jihadists were reported killed by Burkinabe authorities as well. [5]
JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack on April 19, along with a second attack in Zorkoum on April 10 that killed several soldiers and militants while the former were traveling to Bittou. [3]
