Hundreds of civilians have been slaughtered in a devastating Islamist attack on a town in Burkina Faso last month.
Townsfolk in Barsalogho, which is less than 150kms from the capital of Ouagadougou, were digging defensive trenches – to aid the country’s beleaguered security forces – when they came under attack from a heavily armed, al-Qaeda-linked group. Eyewitnesses later reported seeing bodies strewn around the trenches – alongside the shovels they were using. Reports suggest between 200 and 400 people were killed, and many more injured.
The attack is the latest chapter in the Jihadist violence that has engulfed the landlocked West African country in recent years. Barsalogho, in the centre-north region, was the home of at least 90,000 displaced people (most of them Christians) who had already fled from Jihadist attacks further north.
Following this latest atrocity, CEO of Release International, Paul Robinson, said, “Christians in Burkina Faso have been suffering attacks and displacement for several years now and many of those in Barsalogho had already fled from their homes and communities further north – thinking they would be safe there.”
“However, these militant groups have proved that they will stop at nothing to seize control and impose their interpretation of Islam on everyone by force.”
The attack has been attributed to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), one of several armed groups operating in Burkina Faso and across the Sahel region, aiming to establish an Islamic caliphate and eradicating what are perceived to be Western-influenced governments. According to the Australian National Security, the JNIM is based primarily in Mali and spreading across West Africa including Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo.
A Release International partner on the ground in Burkina Faso spoke of the chronic insecurity people are living under. “Many Christian families have been forced to flee their villages because of the threat of attack. These displacements impact daily life, affecting access to basic services, education and the means of basic subsistence,” he said, adding that there is a loss of confidence in the ability of the state’s security services to protect its citizens.
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