A jihadist attack in Burkina Faso left more than a hundred dead and 140 injured | International

This Saturday, at least a hundred people, mostly civilians, were killed in Barsalogho, in the north-central region of Burkina Faso, while they were digging trenches around their town to protect themselves from jihadist attacks. Some armed men arrived on motorcycles and started firing indiscriminately at the population. The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM, by its acronym in Arabic), a terrorist organization linked to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the massacre a few hours later. The civilians were forced to carry out this task by Captain Ibrahim Traore, president of the military junta that has ruled the country since 2022.

Although the exact number of dead is unknown, this is one of the worst attacks against civilians in recent years in Burkina Faso. According to Europa Press, various sources assure that there are between 100 and 200 dead, as well as 140 injured, who have been transferred to the Kaya hospital, located about 45 kilometers away, and to various health centers in the region. The dead include several members of the Volunteers for Defense of the Fatherland (VDP), a civilian structure created by the Burkinabé government to help the army in the fight against terrorism. The attackers also took possession of weapons and a military ambulance.

The north-central region is a frequent site of ambushes and explosives by the local branch of JNIM, the most active jihadist group in central Sahel. It is also an area home to thousands of internally displaced people fleeing violence in the Sahel region in the north of the country. Barsalogho is located 145 kilometers from the capital, Ouagadougou.

Since coming to power through a coup in September 2022, Captain Traore has made it his main objective to fight the jihadists and regain control of the entire national territory. “I dedicate 80% of my time to the war,” he said recently. Despite the arrival of a hundred Russian instructors and mercenaries, they are first of all dedicated to the safety of Traore himself, who has preferred to base his strategy on Reconquest in providing material resources, such as Turkish-made combat drones, and in the involvement of the civilian population, especially through the recruitment of volunteers. Dozens of civilians have also been sent to the front as punishment for their critical stance towards the military junta.

Unarmed volunteers

These Homeland Defense volunteers, about 30,000 of whom are located on the first line of defense, receive basic military training, but in many cases they lack weapons or ammunition to face terrorists. In fact, they have become one of the great objectives of these radicals, as happened this Saturday in Barsalogho. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ESCALED) estimates that around 5,000 volunteers have been killed in various attacks since its creation in 2019. Despite the strong patriotic commitment of many of them, discontent is growing in their communities, according to Burkinabé sources close to the VDP. For their work they receive a bonus of around 120 euros per month.

Burkina Faso has been facing a jihadist insurgency since 2015, with particular incidents in the north, east and west of the country, which have led to thousands of deaths and more than two million internally displaced people. It is estimated that more than half of Burkinabe territory is outside state control. In large areas of the country, defense forces have a presence only on the main roads and in the most important cities. Jihadist attacks against soldiers and civilians, often volunteers or their families, are frequent, although the army or the VDP itself also perpetrates this violence. Last April, Human Rights Watch accused the armed forces and their civilian collaborators of being the perpetrators of the massacre of 223 people, including 56 children, in two towns in the north of the country. The Burkinabe government denied these facts.

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