Gasseliki massacre

Last updated
Gasseliki massacre
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
LocationGasseliki, Soum Province, Burkina Faso
DateJanuary 10, 2019
Deaths20
Injured2

On January 10, 2019, Ansarul Islam militants killed 20 civilians in Gasseliki, Burkina Faso. The attack came in the wake of a massacre perpetrated by the Koglweogo in Yirgou, in Barsalogho department, just days earlier.

Contents

Prelude

Northern Burkina Faso has been embroiled in a jihadist insurgency since 2015, against Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and Ansar Dine. The insurgency began after these groups, along with many other splinter and side groups, breached the instability of the Burkinabe borders from hubs in Mali. [1] Ansar ul Islam formed in 2016, allied with JNIM, as the first homegrown Burkinabe jihadist group. [2] In 2018, attacks by Ansarul Islam led to the US government sanctioning the group and it's affiliates. [3] On December 28, 2018, Ansarul Islam began a campaign stepping up its attack, with an ambush in Loroni killing ten Burkinabe police officers. [4]

Massacre

While the town of Gasseliki was attacked four separate times in January by Ansar ul Islam, according to locals, the deadliest attack occurred on January 10, 2019. [5] Locals claimed that the jihadists were wearing a mixed variety of clothing, some wearing boubous, others in camouflage. [6] The militants then broke into homes, ordering civilians to get up before shooting at them. [6] The attack lasted for around 45 minutes total, and both locals and analysts claimed that the attack was caused by Ansarul Islam demanding that a local self-defense force not be created (likely a Koglweogo). [6] [5] Locals claimed that while a self-defense force protecting two nearby villages also protected Gasseliki, Ansarul Islam attacked the town during a time when the self-defense force was gone. [6] A later attack in Gasseliki killed eight people at a water well. [6] Most of the victims were ethnic Bella, Mossi, or Foulse. [6]

Around that same time on January 27, militants attacked the nearby town of Sikire, with the death toll being ten killed. [6] [7] The Burkinabe government claimed to have killed 146 jihadist militants in retribution for the attacks, although Fulani locals claimed the "jihadists" were actually Fulani civilians targeted in the aftermath of the Yirgou massacre. [7]

Related Research Articles

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Ansarul Islam is a militant Islamist group active in Burkina Faso and in Mali. It was founded by Boureima Dicko, also known as Ibrahim Malam Dicko, and it is the first native Jihadi group in Burkina Faso. The group cooperates closely with Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadist 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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Djibo</span> Battle between Burkina Faso and Jihadist rebels

The siege of Djibo is an ongoing blockade of the city of Djibo in Burkina Faso by several factions of Jihadist Islamist rebels. The siege began in February 2022, and is part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso.

On August 4, 2022, jihadist militants ambushed a counter-terrorism operation organized by the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, killing four civilians and nine VDP militiamen. The Burkinabe government claimed that thirty-four insurgents were killed immediately after the attack.

On September 5, 2022, a bus travelling from Djibo to the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou hit a mine outside the town of Silgadji, killing 35 people and injured dozens more.

<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 September 26, 2022, a convoy bound for the besieged city of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso was attacked by armed gunmen, killing 27 soldiers and 10 civilians. The Mali-based jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Gaskinde attack was a key reason for the September 30 coup in Burkina Faso, as many frontline officers were disgruntled about Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba's handling of the jihadist insurgency.

On October 13, 2022, an IED hit a civilian bus travelling along the Bandiagara-Goundaka highway in rural Mali, killing 10 civilians and injuring dozens more. The attack was alleged to be coordinated by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Boala attack</span>

On December 7, 2022, ten Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland militants, a Burkinabe civilian militia, were killed at a market in Boala Department, Centre-Nord Region, Burkina Faso. A second attack on December 10 killed seven civilians.

The Ouahigouya ambush took place near Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso, between February 7 and 8, 2022. French forces launched an airstrike on Ansar ul Islam militants responsible for the November Inata attack that killed dozens of Burkinabe police officers.

On March 20, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed Burkinabe soldiers in Natiaboani, Gourma Province, Burkina Faso, killing thirteen soldiers and an unknown number of jihadists.

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 October 29, 2022, gunmen from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed a convoy of Burkinabé soldiers near the village of Kikideni while they were on their way from Fada N'gourma to Natiaboani, Est Region, Burkina Faso.

Boureima Dicko, nom de guerre Ibrahim Malam Dicko, was a Burkinabe jihadist and the founder of Ansarul Islam.

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 May 30, 2020, unknown militants ambushed an aid convoy escorted by Burkinabe gendarmes near the town of Barsalogho as it was returning from delivering food to civilians in Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso. Thirteen people were killed and forty were wounded in the attack.

Between November 2019 and June 2020, the bodies of over 180 civilians were discovered in and around the city of Djibo, Burkina Faso. Most of the killings targeted Fulani, and were committed by Burkinabe Armed Forces, Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), and Defense and Security Forces (FDS). Several mass graves were made for the victims in March and April 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Burkina Faso: Authorities impose state of emergency in 22 provinces from March 30". Burkina Faso: Authorities impose state of emergency in 22 provinces from March 30 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  2. ↑ University, © Stanford; Stanford; California 94305. "MMP: Ansaroul Islam". cisac.fsi.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "U.S. to impose sanctions against Ansarul Islam | Africa Times". africatimes.com. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Ambush leaves 10 Burkina Faso police officers dead". France 24. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  5. 1 2 "Burkina Faso, part 1: Spreading violence triggers an 'unprecedented' crisis". The New Humanitarian. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ""We Found Their Bodies Later That Day"". Human Rights Watch. 2019-03-22.
  7. 1 2 "14 civilians killed in jihadist attack in Burkina Faso: army". France 24. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2023-03-29.

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