Nearly 200 Dead as Al Qaeda-Linked JNIM Militants Rampage Across Burkina Faso 

Nearly 200 Dead as Al Qaeda-Linked JNIM Militants Rampage Across Burkina Faso 

Jack Milley

Staff Writer

On August 24th, 2024, the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, attacked the large village of Barsalogho in Burkina Faso, killing 200 people and wounding 140 others, reports Al Jazeera. This attack takes place as JNIM continues to advance throughout the country and seize territory.

This violence is part of the ongoing conflict between pro-government forces and extremist militants in the region. Burkina Faso has experienced a recent spike in such attacks, reports Human Rights Watch. In 2023 alone, these assaults have killed hundreds of people and resulted in several other issues, including starvation, malnutrition, and lack of healthcare.

JNIM has a long history of violence in the region, but attacks have recently increased, according to The Institute for the Study of War. Since the Burkina Faso’s  Junta came into power, the Burkina Faso military has led strikes against JNIM. This increase in fighting has resulted in attacks against civilian targets, such as water and food infrastructure, and terror attacks by the militant organization.

JNIM is a new terrorist organization formed in early 2017, states the National Counterterrorism Organization. The group formed after the merging of four Islamic terrorist organizations: Ansar al-Din, al-Murabitun, the Macina Liberation Front, and the Sahara Emirate. They oppose Western involvement in West Africa and often target European and American forces in the region to further achieve this goal.

Officials in the target village had received word that JNIM might be planning an attack on them, and, as such, had begun the constructing of defensive works such as barricades and trenches to aid the defenders, reports Al Jazeera. Villagers were conscripted to help with these measures but feared reprisal from JNIM, as the group is known to kill civilians they believe aid government forces. 

Al Jazeera reports that the attack occurred before the construction was finished. Many victims, mostly men, were found dead in the half-completed trenches next to excavation equipment. The attackers took weapons and a military ambulance before leaving soon after. Wounded civilians have managed to find care in nearby hospitals but are causing a strain on the limited resources there.

Reuters reports that this recent attack has led to increased pressure on the junta of Burkina Faso. The junta, which has faced condemnation in the past for its authoritarian measures, is now facing even more pressure from the families of the wounded and deceased. They argue that the junta has not done enough to prevent JNIM and other similar organizations from performing terror attacks like this one. Reuters also details that many experts believe that the ongoing attacks by terrorist organizations and the growing anger of the civilian population could lead to the junta being overthrown.

The United Nations reports that foreign aid organizations are being overwhelmed by the number of wounded civilians resulting from these attacks. Refugees fleeing the town of Barsalogho are also straining the available aid, such as food and clean water. UN aid agencies already struggle to provide support due to limited or nonexistent infrastructure in many underdeveloped countries, The rise in attacks adds even more pressure on an already unstable system.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned these attacks, as have many of his colleagues at the UN. The United Nations spokesperson has conveyed Guterres’s stance on helping convictions to help the government of Burkina Faso and the rest of the world fight terrorism and bring the perpetrators to justice, reports the United Nations.

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