Gorgadji massacre

Last updated
Gorgadji massacre
Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Locationnear Gorgadji Department, Seno Province, Burkina Faso
Date18 August 2021
Deaths80+
  • 6 VDP
  • 15 gendarmes
  • 59 civilians
Injured~30
PerpetratorsUnknown

On August 18, 2021, unknown jihadists attacked a civilian convoy and its military patrol near Gorgadji, Burkina Faso, killing at least 80 people, 59 of whom were civilians. Dozens of jihadists were killed in a retaliatory attack by the Burkinabe government.

Contents

Background

Since 2019, northern Burkina Faso has been embroiled in two jihadist insurgencies by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, both predominantly-Fulani organizations that attack civilians along ethnic and religious lines. [1] The Burkinabe government has increased efforts to combat the insurgencies by recruiting civilian militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), although Burkinabe forces and VDP have been accused of killing Fulani civilians en masse. [2] In early April 2021, jihadists killed ten VDP in Gorgadji, Séno Province. [1]

Massacre

The attack was carried out on a civilian convoy guarded by Burkinabe military patrols, and took place around 25 kilometers from Gorgadji, near the borders of Niger and Mali. [3] [4] A statement by the Burkinabe government mentioned that the civilians were headed to Arbinda when they were attacked. [4] Six VDP militiamen, fifteen gendarmes, and fifty-nine civilians were killed in the massacre, according to the Burkinabe government. [5] The Burkinabe government also stated that between 58 and 80 jihadists were killed in retaliatory attacks with others fleeing, but this could not be confirmed. [5] Around thirty people were wounded in the jihadist attack as well. [6]

The Burkinabe government decreed a period of national mourning for three days following the attack. [6]

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">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">Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland</span> Armed group in Burkina Faso

The Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland is an armed self-defense group in Burkina Faso created to fight jihadist insurgents. It is an auxiliary force supporting the Burkina Faso Armed Forces.

<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">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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Boala attack</span> Killings in Namentenga, Burkina Faso

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.

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.

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.

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.

On April 26, 2021, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara killed eighteen civilians in Yattakou, Seno Province, Burkina Faso, sparking a mass exodus from the area.

On April 15, 2023, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked a group of Burkinabe soldiers and civilian volunteers in the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) near Aorema, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso, killing at least forty soldiers and VDP and injuring over thirty others. The attack occurred a month after a massacre against civilians by JNIM in Aorema that killed fourteen. Following the attack, Burkinabe soldiers searching for the perpetrators of the April attack killed over 130 civilians in the Karma massacre.

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 December 23, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin and Ansarul Islam attacked Burkinabe forces in Titao, Loroum Province, Burkina Faso, killing 41 soldiers. The attack was one of the deadliest attacks against Burkinabe soldiers in the country's history, and occurred just over a month after an attack on Inata killed over fifty soldiers. News of the attack sparked protests across Burkina Faso.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gunmen kill 18 in Burkina Faso attack, force many to flee". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  2. ↑ "Burkina Faso's National Reconciliation No Easy Path". Voice of America. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  3. ↑ AFP, Staff Writer With (2021-08-19). "Suspected Jihadists Kill 47 in Northern Burkina Faso". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  4. 1 2 "Burkina Faso: Dozens killed in suspected jihadist attack – DW – 08/18/2021". dw.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  5. 1 2 "Burkina Faso: UN chief condemns deadly attack on northern town, 80 reported dead | UN News". news.un.org. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  6. 1 2 "Burkina Faso Again in Mourning After Jihadi Massacre". Voice of America. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2025-01-16.

14°13′44″N0°51′58″W / 14.229°N 0.866°W / 14.229; -0.866

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