Bourasso and Namissiguima massacres

Last updated
Bourasso and Namissiguima massacres
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Bourasso, Kossi Province and Namissiguima, Yatenga, Burkina Faso
DateJuly 2–4, 2022
DeathsTotal: 34 killed (per Burkinabe government) [1]
Bourasso: 22 killed (per Burkinabe government) [2]
30+ killed (per local officials) [3]
Namissiguima: 12 killed (per Burkinabe government) [2]
9 killed (per local officials) [4]
PerpetratorIslamic State flag.svg Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

In early July 2022, two separate massacres occurred in Bourasso, Kossi Province and Namissiguima Department, Yatenga Province in Burkina Faso. The massacre in Bourasso killed 22 people, and the one in Namissiguima killed 12. [5]

Contents

Prelude

Northern Burkina Faso has been a hub of jihadist activity since early 2015, with the provinces of Kossi and Yatenga each seeing lots of violence. [6] The towns of Bourasso and Namissiguima, both some of the largest population centers in those areas, have been attacked and battled over numerous times. Prior to the June 30 attack, an attack on June 9 killed four policemen in Kossi and nine were killed in the neighboring province in Séno. [7] Jihadist attacks against civilians had risen since spring 2022, with dozens of attacks in the north of Burkina Faso. [8]

Bourasso massacre

Around 5 pm on July 3, 2022, militants from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) entered the town of Bourasso, firing in the air and leaving shortly after. [9] [10] They returned later that night, threatening churchgoers and prompting arguments and confrontations in front of the local church. [9] Passerby joined these arguments, as this instance was not the first time ISGS militants had entered Bourasso. [9] ISGS then fired on civilians in front of the church, immediately killing 14. [9] They then headed for the center of the village, killing another 20 inhabitants according to the local priest. [9] Survivors of the massacre allege the death toll is over thirty, although the diocese of Nouna announced an official count of 22 dead. [10] [9] The governor of Boucle du Mouhoun region where Bourasso is located, Babo Pierre Bassinga, corroborated the death toll of 22 and claimed the wounded were sent to hospitals in Nouna and Dédougou. [11]

Namissiguia massacre

On July 2, 2022, an attack on Namissiguima in Yatenga Province killed around a dozen people. [12] [13] In the attack, the Burkinabe government stated that six VDP civilian militiamen were killed, along with three civilians, although an anonymous local security source claimed the death toll was around twelve. [14] [15] Following the attack, the Burkinabe government claimed to have clashed with the perpetrators near Barga-Mossi, Burkina Faso, killing seven jihadists and wounding an unknown amount more. [16]

Related Research Articles

On December 24, 2019, militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked the Burkinabe government military base in Arbinda, Sahel Region, Burkina Faso along with the town of Arbinda itself. The attack was halted due to French and Burkinabe air intervention, although 35 civilians were killed in the jihadists' massacre. The Arbinda attack was the deadliest incident in the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso in several years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solhan and Tadaryat massacres</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso</span> Ongoing insurgency in Burkina Faso (2015–present)

An ongoing war and civil conflict between the Government of Burkina Faso and Islamist rebels began in August 2015 and has led to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians and combatants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamist insurgency in the Sahel</span> Insurgency throughout the Sahel and West Africa

An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.

On June 11, 2022, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked the town of Seytenga, Séno Province, Burkina Faso, killing over a hundred civilians in a massacre. The massacre occurred after Burkinabe forces evacuated the city following ISGS' takeover of the Burkinabe base in the town on June 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yirgou massacre</span> 2019 terrorist attack in Burkina Faso

On the night between December 31, 2018, and January 1, 2019, alleged Ansarul Islam jihadists attacked the village of Yirgou, in Barsalogho Department, Burkina Faso. While initial reports claimed the attack killed six people, including the village chief and his son, later reports and investigations showed up to 210 people were killed.

On April 8, 2022, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin ambushed a Burkinabe military base near the town of Namissiguima, in Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso.

On September 4, 2023, clashes broke out between jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin and Burkinabe soldiers backed by pro-government VDP militiamen in the village of Koumbri, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso. The battle left over fifty Burkinabe soldiers and militiamen dead and an unknown number of jihadists killed.

On December 30, 2022, dozo militants affiliated with the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) killed over 88 civilians in Nouna, Burkina Faso.

On January 28, 2023, suspected Islamic State jihadists attacked Burkinabe soldiers and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) militiamen in the city of Falagountou, Burkina Faso.

On August 19, 2019, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked Burkinabe forces in Koutougou, Soum Province, Burkina Faso. 24 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in the attack, and Burkinabe authorities were forced to abandon military outposts in several northern Burkinabe towns following the attack. The attack was the deadliest jihadist attack in Burkinabe history up to that point.

On August 4, 2021, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked several towns and Burkinabe bases in Markoye Department, Oudalan Province, Burkina Faso. Several rural villages were raided and civilians were killed, and the jihadist raids on Burkinabe bases in Tokabangou sparked battles that killed dozens of Burkinabe soldiers and ISGS fighters. The attacks were the deadliest day for the Burkinabe government since the Solhan and Tadaryat massacres in June 2021.

On August 18, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin ambushed a convoy of Burkinabe soldiers and civilians near Boukouma, Séno Province, Burkina Faso. The ambush sparked clashes between the jihadists and the soldiers, leaving dozens dead on both sides. At least 65 civilians were killed in the ambush as well.

On November 14, 2021, jihadists from Ansarul Islam and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked the mining town of Inata, Burkina Faso, the last place in Djibo Department under Burkinabe government control at the time of the attack. The Burkinabe outpost in Inata was overrun and over fifty soldiers were killed. The attack was the deadliest ambush against Burkinabe forces since the start of the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso in 2015, and was a primary reason for the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état.

The siege of Madjoari began in February 2021 and lasted until May 25, 2022, as part of the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso. Jihadists from Ansarul Islam and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin began attacking the city, controlled by Burkinabe forces and the pro-government Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), and ambushed Burkinabe troops and cut off supply lines. Civilians in Madjoari starved, and almost all of them fled to elsewhere in Burkina Faso or to Benin. In May 2022, as the siege came to an end, the jihadists overran the Burkinabe military base and then massacred over fifty civilians fleeing in the Singou massacre.

On May 21, 2022, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked the city of Bourzanga, Burkina Faso, but the attack was repelled by Burkinabe and French forces.

The Tin-Ediar attack or Déou attack occurred on February 17, 2023 when Burkinabe soldiers were ambushed by the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS) near the village of Tin-Ediar while travelling between Déou and Oursi, Burkina Faso. Over 70 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in the ambush, and Burkinabe authorities stated 160 ISGS fighters were killed.

On February 20, 2023, jihadists from the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS) ambushed Burkinabe soldiers in Tin-Akoff, Oudalan Province, Burkina Faso. Between 15 and 100 Burkinabe soldiers were killed. The attack came just three days after the Tin-Ediar attack, where over seventy Burkinabe soldiers were killed in an ISGS attack.

On March 31, 2024, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked Burkinabe forces in Tawori, Tapoa Province, Burkina Faso. Over seventy Burkinabe soldiers were killed and thirty-two civilians were killed during the attack and the subsequent massacre.

References

  1. ↑ Burkina Faso: Death toll rises from suspected jihadist attacks, vaticannews.va, 2022-07-05
  2. 1 2 Au moins 27 morts dans deux attaques de jihadistes présumés au Faso, voaafrique.com, 2022-07-04 (French)
  3. ↑ Burkina Faso: Murdered in front of their church, churchinneed.org, 2022-07-05
  4. ↑ Burkina Faso : 9 morts dont 6 supplétifs de l'armée dans une attaque dans le nord, aa.com.tr, 2022-07-05 (French)
  5. ↑ "Armed men kill at least 22 in north Burkina Faso attack". Reuters. 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  6. ↑ "Five Zones of Militant Islamist Violence in the Sahel - Burkina Faso | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  7. ↑ "Eleven military policemen killed in northern Burkina Faso". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  8. ↑ "Burkina Faso: Armed Islamists Kill, Rape Civilians". Human Rights Watch. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Staff, A. C. N. (2022-07-05). "Burkina Faso: Murdered in front of their church". Church in Need. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  10. 1 2 "Armed men kill dozens in Burkina Faso attacks". Armed men kill dozens in Burkina Faso attacks. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  11. ↑ Benshimon, Samuel. "Burkina Faso : 22 morts dans l'attaque de Bourasso". Sahel Intelligence (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  12. ↑ "At least 27 civilians killed by suspected extremists in Burkina Faso". Al Arabiya English. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  13. ↑ par Mafoi. "Namissiguima/Yatenga : L'attaque du 2 juillet 2022 a fait 9 victimes - leFaso.net". lefaso.net (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  14. ↑ par Mafoi. "Namissiguima/Yatenga : L'attaque du 2 juillet 2022 a fait 9 victimes - leFaso.net". lefaso.net (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  15. ↑ "Dozens killed in two suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso". France 24. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  16. ↑ "Insécurité au Burkina : Sept terroristes neutralisés et Quatre personnes tuées à Namissiguima". Maliactu. July 4, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2023.


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