More than 100 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday in one of the deadliest attacks yet by Islamist militants in the Sahel region. The assault, carried out by the Al-Qaida-linked group Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), targeted multiple locations, including the strategic town of Djibo and a nearby military base.
The attack began early Sunday around 6 a.m. local time and was coordinated across at least eight sites to stretch the country’s limited security forces. According to an aid worker involved in community outreach and a local student who lost her father in the violence, JNIM fighters seized key checkpoints before launching a full-scale assault on military facilities, including the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit’s camp in Djibo.
Speaking to The Associated Press under anonymity due to fear of reprisals, the aid worker described how Burkina Faso’s air force was noticeably absent during the attack, allowing militants to occupy the area for hours without resistance. Independent analyst Charlie Werb, who reviewed videos from the scene, confirmed the lack of air support, which marks a troubling shift from earlier attacks where military intervention had blunted the insurgents’ advances.
Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since two coups in 2022, remains at the epicenter of Africa’s spiraling extremist violence. Nearly half of the country is now outside government control. The ongoing crisis has prompted mass displacement and drawn criticism of the junta’s approach, including its reliance on civilian militias with minimal training. Rights groups have also accused government forces of extrajudicial killings and worsening inter-ethnic strife.
Security experts say the latest attack underscores JNIM’s growing strength and operational range. Wassim Nasr, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center, noted that the ability to strike a heavily militarized town like Djibo reflects the group’s expanding freedom of movement in Burkina Faso and raises serious concerns about the junta’s ability to secure the region.
As the international community continues to monitor the worsening crisis in the Sahel, Sunday’s massacre is a stark reminder of the region’s fragile state — and the devastating toll being paid by civilians and soldiers alike.