JNIM attack kills more than 100 in Burkina Faso

Bamako, May 13: An attack by a group in northern Burkina Faso killed more than 100 people, mostly soldiers, an aid worker and local residents said Monday.

The attack on several locations, including a military base and the long besieged strategic town of Djibo, occurred early Sunday, said an aid worker actively involved in dialogues in Burkina Faso's hard-hit communities. A student from the area said her father was among those killed.

Both individuals spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

A group aligned with Al-Qaida known as Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, which is active in the Sahel region, claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack.

Run by a military junta, the landlocked nation of 23 million has been among the worst hit by the security crisis in Africa's Sahel region, known as the global hot spot for violent extremism. About half of Burkina Faso is outside of government control as a result of the violence that contributed to two coups in 2022. Government security forces have also been accused of extrajudicial killings.

The aid worker, as well as Charlie Werb, an independent analyst focusing on the Sahel, recounted how Sunday's attack began simultaneously in different locations at 6 a.m. local time on Sunday.

“JNIM fighters attacked eight localities simultaneously to disperse the Burkina Faso air force. The main attack occurred in Djibo, where JNIM fighters first took control of all the town's entry checkpoints before attacking the military camps, particularly the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit's camp,” said the aid worker.

Werb, who studied videos posted online, said the attackers spent several hours in the areas without air support from Burkina Faso's military, unlike similar attacks on Djibo in the past, when security forces have successfully repelled the extremists.

The latest attack shows JNIM's escalating power and widening reach in Burkina Faso, said Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank. “The fact that Djibo was targeted confirms the extent of JNIM's freedom of movement within Burkina Faso.”

Analysts have warned that the junta's strategy of military escalation, including the mass recruitment of civilians into poorly trained militias, has worsened inter-ethnic tensions.