Eastern Burkina Faso military convoy massacres

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Eastern Burkina Faso military convoy massacres
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Sahel Region and Est Region, Burkina Faso
DateApril 27 - May 10, 2024
TargetFulani civilians and civilians accused of collaborating with jihadists
Deaths400+
InjuredUnknown
PerpetratorFlag of Burkina Faso.svg Burkina Faso Armed Forces

Throughout May 2024, a convoy carrying soldiers from the Burkina Faso Armed Forces and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland committed several massacres against civilians in eastern Burkina Faso, killing at least 400 civilians during the convoy's journey between April 27 and May 10. The massacres occurred in a similar area to the Nondin and Soro massacres and Bibgou and Soualimou massacres that occurred a few months earlier.

Contents

Background

Much of northern and eastern Burkina Faso has been the frontline of an insurgency waged by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) 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] Within Burkina Faso, ISGS is predominantly active in the tri-border area between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. [1] Since the September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état that saw Ibrahim Traoré rise to power, the Burkinabe governmentand VDP auxiliaries have conducted massacres against civilian areas that have killed hundreds of civilians. [2]

In February 2024, in response to simultaneous jihadist attacks on civilians and a military convoy near Ouahigouya, Burkinabe soldiers and pro-government militiamen attacked the villages of Komsilga, Nondin, and Soro, killing over 223 people. Days later, Burkinabe soldiers killed up to 150 people in the Bibgou and Soualimou massacres. [3]

Massacres

The military convoy set out with the task of supplying cities and military bases in eastern Burkina Faso besieged by jihadist groups. [4] The first group of soldiers, made up of Rapid Intervention Brigades 5 and 9 (BIR), left the city of Dori on April 27 and headed out towards Mansila. [5] Mansila had been under siege by JNIM since 2020, and had not been supplied by the government by land since December 2022. [5] On the first day of the journey, the convoy committed its first massacre after being hit by a mine. Thirty people were killed in Niagassi, including fifteen women and nine children, in response to the explosion. [4] The convoy then committed three massacres in Ouro-Djiama, Tepare, and Bognori close to Mansila, killing at least 100 people. [4] The first convoy reached Mansila on May 4, returning via a slightly different route.

The second convoy was composed of soldiers from BIRs 20, 12, 4, and 19, and left Fada N'gourma between May 3 and 5 towards Tankaoulou and Foutouri before returning to Fada N'gourma on May 19. [4] The second convoy did not encounter any jihadist attacks, and only discovered one explosive mine. Despite this, Burkinabe soldiers opened fire in several villages they came across, not distinguishing between men, women, or children. [4] Survivors noted that a predominantly Gourmantche village was spared, but Fulani villages were decimated. The villagers targeted admitted to paying a JNIM-enforced zakat tax, which the military took as proof of the villagers' collusion with JNIM. [4] Around 100 people were killed between May 3 and 9 in villages on the road between Tankaoulou and Fada N'gourma. [6]

Several casualties were reported from at least five mine explosions that the first convoy ran across. The villages that were hit the worst by the massacres were Gatougou, where 84 people were killed and photos showed the bodies of at least seventy people littering the streets of the locality, including women and six infants; Reports from Kampalougou estimated that at least 79 people were killed later on in the convoy's journey. Videos, some taken by the soldiers and some by jihadists who were the first to arrive on scene after the massacres, showed corpses of men, women, and children, including burned bodies. [7]

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On June 11, 2024, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked the town of Mansila and it's military base, killing over a hundred Burkinabe soldiers. The attack weakened public perception of the Burkinabe junta and sparked tensions between the junta and disgruntled military officers.

On August 8, 2024, a convoy of Burkinabe army vehicles headed to Fada N'Gourma from Diapaga were ambushed by militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), killing between 150 and 200 Burkinabe soldiers and militiamen. While the Burkinabe junta has not released a statement confirming the death toll, the attack marks the deadliest incident against Burkinabe soldiers since the start of the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso.

On February 25, 2024, jihadists from the Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISGS) killed fifteen parishioners at a church in Essakane-Village, Gorom-Gorom Department, Burkina Faso. In retaliation for the attack, Burkinabe soldiers killed over two hundred civilians in the Nondin and Soro massacres that same day.

On February 29, 2024, soldiers from the Burkinabe Armed Forces killed up to 150 civilians in the villages of Bibgou and Soualimou, Komondjari Province, Burkina Faso. The massacres occurred just four days after the Nondin and Soro massacres, which were reprisal attacks by government forces against civilians alleged to be collaborating with jihadists that killed 220 people.

References

  1. 1 2 "Burkina Attacks Continue". Voice of America. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  2. ↑ Combary, Rachid Zaïd (2024-08-28). "« La junte militaire a instauré la terreur partout » - Série (3)". Afrique XXI (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  3. ↑ "Burkina Faso: un nouveau massacre dans la province de la Komondjari à l'est du pays". RFI (in French). 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Macé, Célian; Faivre, Agnès. "«Les soldats ont tiré sur tout ce qu'ils ont vu» : au Burkina Faso, des centaines de civils exécutés par deux convois militaires". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  5. 1 2 "Au Burkina Faso, un nouveau massacre attribué à l'armée - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  6. ↑ "Burkina Faso: une centaine de villageois tués dans l'Est". RFI (in French). 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  7. ↑ "Massacres au Burkina Faso : des vidéos accablent l'armée burkinabè". France 24 (in French). 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
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