Dakar, Senegal – Burkina Faso is reeling after a deadly attack on a military post near the border with Niger, claimed by the Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM).
According to SITE Intelligence Group, JNIM said its fighters stormed the post on June 11th, killing over 100 soldiers and seizing control of the location. The group’s statement has not been independently verified.
Burkina Faso’s ruling junta has yet to comment on the attack, but graphic videos circulating online purportedly show intense gunfire around the base, captured weapons, and Burkina Faso soldiers held by the insurgents. Reuters has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the videos.
This attack marks one of the deadliest suffered by Burkina Faso’s army in its ongoing fight against Islamist insurgencies. The country, along with its neighbors Mali and Niger, has been grappling with violent extremism for over a decade. The violence has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions within Burkina Faso.
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