Sanmatenga attacks

Last updated
Sanmatenga attacks
Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso
Date8 September 2019
TargetTradesmen
Attack type
Bombing, shooting
Deaths29
Injured6

The Sanmatenga attacks occurred on 8 September 2019 in the Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso. In the Barsalogho Department a vehicle transporting people and goods, that was returning from a market, drove over an improvised explosive device (IED). 15 passengers were killed and six were injured in the IED attack. Most of the victims were traders. Meanwhile, around 50 km to the east, a convoy with vans carrying provisions for people displaced by fighting was attacked by gunmen. In this attack, 14 people were killed. It is unknown who carried out this attacks. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Background

In the aftermath of the 2011 Libyan Civil War, militant attacks have increased due to a large influx of weapons and fighters into the region. [5] [6] Neighbouring Mali faced conflict in Azawad that threatened to split the country.

Burkina Faso also faced an uprising in 2014 leading to the downfall of President Blaise Compaoré later that year. Burkina Faso is a member of the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership and its commitment of peacekeeping troops in Mali and Sudan has made it a target for extremists in the region. [7] Until 2015, Burkina Faso had remained violence free despite violent events occurring in the northern neighbouring countries of Mali and Niger. Since then, jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State began their infiltration into the country from the northern borders followed by its eastern borders. The infiltration have also brought danger to the southern and western borders. [8] Since 2015, Burkina Faso has faced cross-border attacks and sporadic raids in its territory, the result of instability and unrest in neighboring countries. [9]

Several major attacks have occurred in the capital Ouagadougou in recent years: In 2016, attacks on a hotel and restaurant killed 30 people, including foreigners; and in 2017, similar attacks killed 19 people, including foreigners. Both of these attacks were carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. [10] On 2 March 2018, at least eight heavily armed militants launched an assault on key locations throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Targets included the French embassy and the headquarters of Burkina Faso's military. 16 people, including the eight attackers died in the incident that left 85 injured. [11]

In 2019, the ethnic and religious tensions started due to the Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso. The effect was more prominent in the northern areas of Burkina Faso bordering Mali. [12] AFP reported that the Insurgents have combined hit-and-run tactics of guerrilla warfare along with the road side land mines and suicide bombings. Using these tactics, the insurgents have killed about 600 people. However the toll is estimated to be more than 1,000 by the civil society groups. [8] AFP reported that the violence have displaced around 300,000 people and around 3000 schools were closed. The country's economy is largely rural and effect of violence is increasing on the economy. The violence has been causing disruption in the trade and markets. [8]

Attacks

The attacks occurred on 8 September 2019 in the Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso. In the Barsalogho Department a vehicle transporting people and goods, that was returning from a market, drove over an improvised explosive device (IED). 15 passengers were killed and six were injured in the IED attack. Most of the victims were traders. Meanwhile, around 50 km to the east, a convoy with vans carrying provisions for people displaced by fighting was attacked by gunmen. In this attack, 14 people were killed. It is unknown who carried out this attacks. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Aftermath

A military official said that reinforcements have been deployed after the attacks, and that every effort will be made “to ensure that humanitarian convoys in areas affected by terrorist attacks are under security escort.” [2]

Related Research Articles

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Islamist militant organization in Northwest Africa and the Sahel

Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgency campaign in the Maghreb and Sahel regions.

Al-Mourabitoun was an African militant jihadist organization formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Al-Mulathameen. On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group sought to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Barkhane</span> French military operation

Operation Barkhane was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region and consisted of a roughly 3,000-strong French force, which was permanently headquartered in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. The operation was led in co-operation with five countries, all of which are former French colonies that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Mali was a part of the operation until August 2022. The countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel". The operation was named after a crescent-shaped dune type that is common in the Sahara desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Ouagadougou attacks</span> Islamic terrorist attack in Burkina Faso

On 15 January 2016, gunmen armed with heavy weapons attacked the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in the heart of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The number of fatalities reached 30, while at least 56 were wounded; a total of 176 hostages were released after a government counter-attack into the next morning as the siege ended. Three perpetrators were also killed. The nearby YIBI hotel was then under siege, where another attacker was killed. Notably, former Swiss MPs Jean-Noël Rey and Georgie Lamon were killed. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al-Mourabitoun.

Nineteen people were killed and 25 others were injured when suspected jihadists opened fire on a Turkish restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 13 August 2017. Police cornered the attackers, who took hostages and then were killed in an ensuing shootout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Ouagadougou attacks</span>

On 2 March 2018, at least eight heavily armed militants launched an assault on key locations throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Targets included the French embassy and the headquarters of Burkina Faso's military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Burkina Faso government resignation</span> Government crisis

On 19 January 2019, the government of Burkina Faso dissolved due to the resignation of Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and all members of his cabinet. President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré announced that he intends to form a new government; on 21 January, he began the process of appointing a new government by naming Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré as the new Prime Minister, but his cabinet remains vacant. In the days leading up to the resignation of the government, the country faced a number of attacks from militant terrorist groups, and opposition members of government had previously called for the prime minister and defense ministries to step down, citing an inability to address terrorist attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in Burkina Faso</span> Overview of terrorism in Burkina Faso

Terrorism in Burkina Faso refers to non-state actor violence in Burkina Faso carried out with the intent of causing fear and spreading extremist ideology. Terrorist activity primarily involves religious terrorism conducted by foreign-based organizations, although some activity occurs because of communal frustration over the lack of economic development. Recent attacks have concentrated in the Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Nord, Sahel, and Est regions, along the border with Mali and Niger. A series of attacks in Ouagadougou in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates garnered international attention.

The Salmossi mosque attack occurred on the evening of Friday, 11 October 2019 in a mosque in Oudalan Province, Burkina Faso which left 16 people dead and two injured. It happened while the residents were praying inside the Grand Mosque in Salmossi, a village close to the border with Mali. AFP reported that 13 people died on the spot while 3 died later due to the injuries.

The Dolmané gold mine attack occurred on 4 October 2019 near Madouji, Arbinda Department, Soum Province, Burkina Faso. The Dolmané gold mining site was attacked by suspected Islamic terrorists. The attack took place not far from where a bridge linking two northern towns was blown up in mid-September. At least 20 persons, mostly people that worked in the gold mine, were killed and an unknown number of people were injured. Both Islamic State and al-Qaeda have affiliated groups in the region. It is unknown which of the two was responsible for this attack.

On 6 November 2019, gunmen ambushed a convoy transporting workers of the Canadian mining firm Semafo near the city of Fada N’Gourma, on a road to the firm's Boungou mine. At least 37 people were killed, and dozens more are missing or injured.

In 2019, there were many attacks in the African country Burkina Faso on both soldiers and civilians. These are contextualized by the ongoing Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadist insurgency in Niger</span> Civil conflict in Niger

Since 2015, the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger has been a hotbed for jihadist forces originating from Mali. The insurgency has taken place in two distinct regions of Niger. In southwest, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the Nusrat al-Islam have carried out attacks in the tri-border area with Burkina Faso and Mali. Meanwhile, in the southeast, the Islamic State in the West African Province has established control in parts of southern Niger.

<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

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 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 April 8, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed a Burkinabe military base near the town of Namissiguima, in Sanmatenga Province, 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dozens killed in Burkina Faso attacks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved Oct 11, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dozens killed in IED and gun attacks in northern Burkina Faso". The Defense Post. Sep 9, 2019. Retrieved Oct 11, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "29 Killed in Two Attacks in Burkina Faso". Voice of America. Retrieved Oct 11, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "29 killed in two attacks in Burkina Faso". Arab News. Sep 9, 2019. Retrieved Oct 11, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Collateral Damage: How Libyan Weapons Fueled Mali's Violence". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Charbonneau, Louis (16 January 2012). "Arms from Libya could reach Boko Haram, al Qaeda: U.N." Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Burkina Faso: Extremism & Counter-Extremism, Press Release". Counter Extremism Project. 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  8. 1 2 3 "16 killed in Burkina Faso mosque attack: security sources". France 24. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Reuters Editorial (2015-10-09). "Gunmen kill three Burkina Faso gendarmes near Mali border". U.S. Retrieved 2018-03-05.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ "New security measures in Burkina capital after attacks". News24. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "Burkina Faso attack: Gunmen strike in Ouagadougou". BBC News . 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "Gunmen kill 15 people in attack on Burkina Faso mosque". India Today. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
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