| Samorogouan attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Burkina Faso | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Theophile Bonko | Boubacar Sawadogo | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 killed 1 missing | None | ||||||
| 2 civilians killed, 1 injured | |||||||
On October 9, 2015, jihadists from the Khalid ibn Walid katiba of Ansar Dine attacked a Burkinabe gendarmerie outpost in Samorogouan Department, Burkina Faso. The attack was one of the first deadly attacks during the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso.
In 2012, Tuaregs in northern Mali rebelled against the Malian government, and two factions arose out of the various rebel groups. Jihadist groups such as Ansar Dine took over large swathes of Mali, and were eventually forced into an insurgency by Operation Barkhane. Following the instability after the 2014 Burkina Faso uprising and the new government's crackdown on Islamist groups to prevent a spillover of the war, jihadist groups from Mali began expanding into Burkina Faso. [1]
Residents of Samorogouan had reported being robbed by men in turbans, and also stated that they had called the local gendarmerie brigade, but there was no response. [2]
The attack took place at a Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade outpost in the town of Samorogouan, Kénédougou Province, Burkina Faso, near the Malian border. The day before the attack, armed jihadists had invaded the town and attacked public buildings, sparking a firefight where seven of the jihadists' motorcycles were captured and they were forced to retreat. That night, jihadists attacked the brigade's base at around 4am with more weapons, killing two soldiers. The head of Samorogouan department stated that he had heard gunshots around that time intensifying closer to the base, before dwindling and being heard in a forest close by. [2] During the jihadists' escape from the base, one more soldier was killed and one was kidnapped. [1]
Burkinabe reinforcements did not arrive at the scene until 6am, at which point the jihadists had fled and burned vehicles that had come from Orodara the evening prior to reinforce the base. [2] A civilian also had his throat slit by the attackers, and two civilians were injured. [1] [2] The two men injured were rushed to a hospital, where one died. The civilian that died, Abdoulaye Sawadogo, was an Islamist, and invited the jihadists to stay at his home in Samorogouan to plan the attack. His family members denied that Sawadogo was involved and accused the police of lying as Sawadogo was one of only five Sunni Muslims in the village, although never prayed at the mosque because he didn't believe their interpretation. [2]
Later reports revealed that Boubacar Sawadogo, the head of the Burkinabe branch of Ansar Dine's Khalid ibn Walid katiba attacked the outpost with his men. The attack was facilitated by Katiba du Sud's second-in-command Yacouba Traore. [3]
Several high-profile Burkinabe military leaders visited Samorogouan after the attack. General Pingrenoma Zagre visited the town and declared measures would be taken to prevent another attack. [1] [2] No attackers were killed during the clashes, and Burkinabe authorities stated that thirteen arrests of suspects were made in Samorogouan, Orodara, and Bobo-Dioulasso afterwards. [2]
On 16 December 2016, jihadists from Ansarul Islam and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a Burkinabe army outpost in Nassoumbou, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, killing twelve soldiers. The attack was the first claimed by Ansarul Islam, Burkina Faso's first homegrown jihadist movement that formed a month prior.
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.
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.
The battle of Boulikessi took place between September 30 and October 1, 2019. Jihadists from JNIM and Ansarul Islam attacked Malian bases in Boulikessi and Mondoro, killing between 40 and 85 Malian soldiers, making it the deadliest attack for the Malian army since the Second Battle of Kidal in 2014.
On March 5, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in Boulikessi. The attack was the first by JNIM since its inception that month.
On January 15, 2016, unknown militants ambushed Malian forces near Wanna, in Goundam Cercle, Mali.
Between December 24–25, 2015, Ansar Dine militants attacked National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) positions in Talahandak, Mali. Ansar Dine captured the MNLA outpost, and then ambushed CMA reinforcements.
On October 28, 2015, a battle broke out in Tiébanda, Mali, between Katiba Macina militants and Malian forces.
On August 7, 2015, jihadists from Al-Mourabitoun and Katiba Macina attacked the Byblos Hotel in Sévaré, Mali. The attack was one of the largest attacks against civilians in Mopti Region during the Mali War, and led to the deaths of thirteen people, including five civilians.
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 July 16, 2015, the Malian army raided a jihadist base in the Sama Forest, in southern Mali's Sikasso Region. The raid is one of the few confrontations between jihadists and the Malian army in southern Mali, and marked the end of the Khalid ibn Walid katiba and jihadist expansion in southern Mali.
The raid on Ténenkou took place on January 16, 2015, between Malian forces and jihadists of the Ansar Dine-affiliated Katiba Macina.
On October 23, 2013, Katiba Salahadin militants attacked Chadian peacekeepers in the city of Tessalit, sparking a battle between the militants and Chadian and French forces. The attack was the first attack by jihadists targeting MINUSMA peacekeepers during the Mali War.
Souleymane Keïta was a Senegalese jihadist and the founder of the short-lived Khalid ibn al-Walid Battalion of Katiba Macina.
On October 12, 2016, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked Burkinabe troops at Intangom, Tin-Akoff Department, Burkina Faso, killing four soldiers,
The 2018 Inata attack occurred between October 3 and 4, 2018, when suspected militants from Ansarul Islam attacked the gold mines near Inata, Burkina Faso, but were repulsed by Burkinabe forces.
On August 19, 2019, jihadists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked Burkinabe forces in Koutougou, Soum Province, Burkina Faso. 24 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in the attack, and Burkinabe authorities were forced to abandon military outposts in several northern Burkinabe towns following the attack. The attack was the deadliest jihadist attack in Burkinabe history up to that point.
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 November 14, 2021, jihadists from Ansarul Islam and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked the mining town of Inata, Burkina Faso, the last place in Djibo Department under Burkinabe government control at the time of the attack. The Burkinabe outpost in Inata was overrun and over fifty soldiers were killed. The attack was the deadliest ambush against Burkinabe forces since the start of the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso in 2015, and was a primary reason for the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état.
On April 27, 2023, jihadists from the Katiba Hanifa of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin launched an attack on Burkinabe forces in Ougarou, Est Region, Burkina Faso. Around 33 Burkinabe soldiers and VDP were killed along with 40 jihadists.
