An Al Qaeda branch claims that the 300 fighters slain in the Burkina Faso attack were fighters, not civilians

The U.S. consultancy Site Intelligence Group reported that an al Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility for the devastating attack in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday. The group claimed that it targeted militia members affiliated with the army, rather than civilians, and claimed that it killed nearly 300 individuals.

The attack outside the town of Barsalogho was one of the most lethal in the nearly a decade-long period of Islamist violence in the West African nation. According to a group of victims’ relatives, at least 400 civilians were slain when jihadists opened fire on them while they were digging defensive trenches on the military’s orders.

Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, an al Qaeda affiliate, claimed that soldiers and militia members were excavating the trenches at the time of the attack.

In a communique translated by Site on Thursday, JNIM stated that the individuals who were killed in this attack were militias affiliated with the Burkinabe army, rather than civilians, as they had falsely claimed.

The majority of the bodies were in civilian attire, and dozens of them were observed in trenches in a number of videos that were purportedly captured by the militants and posted on social media.

The bloodshed underscores the peril of the authorities’ increasing dependence on civilians as they endeavor to combat jihadist groups that have destabilized large areas of the Sahel region since an insurgency began in neighboring Mali in 2012.

“Civilians are playing a significant role in the conflict,” stated Ryan Cummings, director of analysis at Signal Risk, a risk-management company that focuses on Africa. He was alluding to their recruitment into militias or their fortification of towns, as they appear to have been doing in Barsalogho.

“However, civilians who are providing assistance to the military are perceived as collaborators.” He stated that this has resulted in them becoming targets of attacks.

The number of fatalities in Burkina Faso has not been disclosed by the ruling junta, but it has stated that civilians, soldiers, and volunteer army auxiliaries, or VDPs, were among the victims.

The attackers struck while locals in Barsalogho were engaged in unspecified community labor, according to state television.

Collectif Justice pour Barsalogho, a citizen advocacy group, alleged on Wednesday that the authorities were negligent in their use of the military to compel the community to construct trenches, which ultimately served as “mass graves.”

“Our parents were led to the slaughter,” it stated in a statement.

In 2022, Burkina Faso experienced two coups as a result of frustrations regarding the escalating violence. However, the new authorities have been unable to mitigate the violence. Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a nongovernmental organization, reported in July that more than 6,500 civilians have been slain since the beginning of 2020. The present government resulted in the deaths of over half of the population.