Nouna massacre

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Nouna massacre
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Nouna, Burkina Faso
DateDecember 30, 2022
Target Fulani civilians
Deaths88+
Perpetrator Dozo militiamen affiliated with the VDP
MotiveReprisal attack for a jihadist attack on the VDP headquarters in Nouna

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.

Contents

Background

The Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) is a pro-government civilian defense group formed in 2019 to repel jihadist attacks from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Ansarul Islam in northern Burkina Faso. The group has been accused of massacres against Fulanis, who make up the bulk of JNIM and other jihadist groups. [1] [2] Traditional dozo hunters in western Burkina Faso are the main local fighters of the VDP in the Nouna area, despite conflicts with Mossi Koglweogo, the predecessor to the VDP. [3] In October 2022, the Burkinabe junta led by Ibrahim Traoré announced the recruitment of 50,000 new VDPs to combat the jihadist insurgency in the country. [4]

Prior to the attack in Nouna, dozo hunters had been accused of several attacks in Burkina Faso. An attack in Loropéni in December 15 killed five civilians, and three days later, suspected VDP kidnapped and executed a father and son in Kongoussi. [5] On December 22, VDP kidnapped and executed Fulani men and the traditional Fulani leader in the village of Marmisga, and later looted the property of the villagers. [6]

Massacre

On the night between December 29 and 30, 2022, armed men belonging to Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the headquarters of the VDP stationed in Nouna. [6] [7] In response, dozo hunters affiliated with the VDP moved into the Sector 4 and Sector 6 neighborhoods, which were predominantly Fulani. [7] On the night of December 30, the dozos went door-to door, killing all men over the age of 16. [7] A report from the Collective Against Impunity and the Stigmatization of Communities, a Burkinabe rights group, stated that the dozos sought out "influential" Fulani civilians. [8] The dozos later returned to loot the houses of the civilians they killed. [6]

Aftermath

By January 2, thirty-eight people had been killed in Sector 6 and forty-eight people had been killed in Sector 4. [4] However, the death toll is likely to be higher, as those numbers are only of those who were buried under the authority of the traditional chieftain of Nouna on December 31, and more bodies were being discovered each day after the massacre. [4] Two more bodies were discovered on January 2 according to survivors in an interview with Amnesty International. [4]

On January 2, the Burkinabe government announced an investigation into the killings of 28 people in Nouna on the date of the massacre. [9]

Analysts compared the Nouna massacre to the Yirgou massacre in 2019, when Koglweogo militants killed over 100 Fulani civilians in reprisal attacks following the murder of a Mossi leader by jihadists. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nouna</span> Place in Boucle du Mouhoun Region, Burkina Faso

Nouna is a town, with a population of 32,428 (2019), located in the Province of Kossi in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Province. Nouna is a fairly developed town that boasts electricity, running water, land-line telephones, and cellular phones. It also has a high school, bank, post office, mayor's office, and several hotels.

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">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.

On 25 May 2022, jihadists from Ansarul Islam or Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked civilians fleeing the towns of Madjoari and Tabarga, Kompienga Province, Burkina Faso during the siege of Madjoari. The jihadists intercepted the refugees near the town of Singou, and separated the men from the women, elderly, and children. Over fifty civilians were executed by the jihadists, and fifty more were alleged to be missing. The massacre was the culmination of an offensive that began several weeks prior, with jihadists killing seventeen civilians in Madjoari on May 14 and overrunning the Burkinabe base in the town on May 19.

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.

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.

<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 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.

<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 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.

On January 28, 2023, suspected Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin militants stopped two buses headed from Banfora to Mangodara near the village of Linguekoro, Comoé Province, Burkina Faso, and killed fifteen passengers.

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 March 2, 2023, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked the village of Aorema, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso. They killed fourteen civilians.

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 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.

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.

References

  1. ↑ Human Rights Watch (2020-12-18), "Burkina Faso: Events of 2020", English, retrieved 2023-10-27
  2. ↑ Courtright, James (2023-03-07). "Ethnic Killings by West African Armies Are Undermining Regional Security". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  3. ↑ Tisseron, Antonin (2021). "Pandora's box. Burkina Faso, self-defense militias, and VDP law in fighting jihadism" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Peace and Security Competence Center. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Burkina Faso: Perpetrators of Nouna killings must face justice". Amnesty International. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  5. ↑ Collectif contre l'impunite et la stigmatisation des communautes (January 2, 2023). "Communique de Presse". Facebook. Retrieved October 27, 2023. Dans la nuit du 18 décembre 2022, des supposés VDP ont enlevé et exécuté un père de famille et son fils (étudiant) au secteur N°1 de la commune de Kongoussi, région du Centre-Nord ;
  6. 1 2 3 Collectif contre l'impunite et la stigmatisation des communautes (January 2, 2023). "Communique de Presse". Facebook. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Burkina Faso: Perpetrators of Nouna killings must face justice". Amnesty International. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  8. 1 2 "Burkina Faso rights group reports 28 dead in suspected ethnic killing". www.jurist.org. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Rights Group Blames Volunteer Militia in New Burkina Bloodshed". Voice of America. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

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