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]
PerpetratorAQMI Flag asymmetric.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]

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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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