Armed Groups Linked to ISIL and al-Qaeda, Including ISGS and JNIM, Escalate Deadly Attacks on Civilians in Burkina Faso: HRW Report
Fiona Nanna, ForeMedia News
4 minutes read. Updated 12:53PM GMT Thurs, 19 September, 2024
In a harrowing update on the escalating violence in Burkina Faso, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report detailing a significant rise in attacks by armed groups with connections to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. The NGO’s findings, published on Wednesday, underscore a disturbing trend of intensified aggression against civilians in the West African nation.
According to the report, these groups have been responsible for at least 128 civilian deaths in seven distinct attacks across Burkina Faso since February 2024. The atrocities documented in the HRW report reveal a pattern of brutality that includes the massacre of villagers, displaced persons, and Christian worshippers. The violence has been described as blatant violations of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, the senior Sahel researcher at HRW, expressed deep concern over the escalating violence. “We are witnessing an incredibly concerning surge in Islamist violence,” Allegrozzi stated. “We call on the leaders of these groups to halt their deadly attacks immediately.”
Burkina Faso, under the leadership of President Ibrahim Traore, has been contending with an armed rebellion since the arrival of the ISIL affiliate in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) from neighboring Mali in 2016. Traore’s administration has engaged civilians in the conflict, recruiting thousands of volunteer army auxiliaries and compelling people to dig defensive trenches in response to the insurgency.
The HRW report includes harrowing witness accounts of recent attacks. One such atrocity occurred in February when ISGS militants attacked a church in Essakane, near the Niger border, killing at least 12 people. This attack was reportedly a retaliatory measure against Christians who refused to renounce their faith.
JNIM has been linked to several other brutal assaults, including a June attack on an army base near Niger, which resulted in the deaths of 107 soldiers and at least 20 civilians. Another JNIM attack in late August targeted civilians digging trenches around Barsalogho, resulting in up to 400 casualties.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) was cited in the report, revealing that over 26,000 individuals, including soldiers, militiamen, and civilians, have lost their lives in Burkina Faso since the onset of the conflict in 2016.
Meta Description: Human Rights Watch reports a surge in violence in Burkina Faso linked to ISIL and al-Qaeda, with over 128 civilian deaths in recent attacks. Discover the full extent of the crisis and its humanitarian impact.
