On May 30, 2020, unknown militants ambushed an aid convoy escorted by Burkinabe gendarmes near the town of Barsalogho as it was returning from delivering food to civilians in Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso. Thirteen people were killed and forty others were wounded in the attack.
Barsalogho aid convoy attack | |
---|---|
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |
Location | near Barsalogho Department, Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso |
Date | May 30, 2020 |
Target | Aid convoy returning from Foube |
Deaths | 13 |
Injured | 40 |
Victims | 6 gendarmes missing |
Perpetrators | ![]() |
Background
editThree main jihadist groups are known to operate in northern Burkina Faso, having conducted attacks on civilians and Burkinabe government forces since the jihadist insurgency began in 2015. These three main groups are the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Ansarul Islam, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.[1] These groups mainly operate in rural areas, and ambush from roadsides, and are active in Barsalogho Department and the wider Sanmatenga Province.[2]
On the weekend of May 28 through May 31, jihadists attacked various locations across Burkina Faso. Fifteen people were killed in an attack on a trader convoy in Loroum Province, near the Malian border, by unknown gunmen on May 28.[3] On the same day as the Barsalogho attack, twenty-five people were killed at a cattle market in Kompienga Province in southern Burkina Faso.[4]
Attack
editThe aid convoy was returning from the refugee camp in the village of Foube when it was ambushed by unknown gunmen near the town of Barsalogho.[5] At the time of the attack, the convoy was also protected by Burkinabe gendarmes.[4] The Burkinabe government stated that ten people were killed in the aftermath, with twenty others injured and some gendarmes missing.[6] Of the ten killed, five were gendarmes, and five were aid workers, including an ambulance driver and a nurse.[6] The aid workers belonged to the International Committee of the Red Cross.[7] This toll later increased to thirteen people killed, and forty wounded. Six gendarmes were also reported missing by the Burkinabe government in the revised toll.[5]
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks.[8]
References
edit- ^ Beevor, Eleanor (August 29, 2022). "JNIM in Burkina Faso: A strategic criminal actor" (PDF). Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ AFP, Staff Writer With (2019-10-24). "Burkina Faso troops killed in ambushes in Barsalogho, Centre-Nord region". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ B24, Rédaction (2020-05-31). "Burkina Faso : 10 morts dans l'attaque d'un convoi humanitaire au Centre-Nord (communiqué)". Burkina24.com - Actualité du Burkina Faso 24h/24 (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-07.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The New Humanitarian | A deadly 48 hours leaves 50 dead in Burkina Faso". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ a b "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202005300006". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ a b "Violence Against or Obstruction of Health Care in Burkina Faso in 2020 - Burkina Faso | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "Security incident data | Aid Worker Security Database". www.aidworkersecurity.org. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "Attacks on Burkina Faso market and convoy leave 35 dead as violence escalates". ABC News. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2024-03-07.