| 2022 Natiaboani ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Burkina Faso | Unknown jihadists
| ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 13 killed 8 injured | Several "neutralized" (per Burkinabe Army) [1] | ||||||
On March 20, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed Burkinabe soldiers in Natiaboani, Gourma Province, Burkina Faso, killing thirteen soldiers and an unknown number of jihadists.
Much of Burkina Faso's Gourma Province has been embroiled in a jihadist insurgency since 2015, with the Burkinabe government fighting against three main groups; Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, Ansar ul Islam, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The town of Natiaboani is located sixty kilometers away from the regional capital of Fada N'gourma, and as a consequence, is often targeted by jihadist groups due to a lack of security and connection to the rest of the country. [2] On March 13, a jihadist ambush killed thirteen pro-government Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland militiamen in northern Burkina Faso, near the towns of Tabarko and Tougouri. [2] Fifteen young people were also kidnapped in an attack by unknown armed men in Nagré on March 18. [2]
At the time of the attack, several Burkinabe soldiers were out on a patrol near Natiaboani. A press release by the Burkinabe government stated that thirteen soldiers were killed and eight were injured, along with an unknown number of jihadists. [3] These tolls were corroborated by local sources speaking to AFP, claiming that several jihadists were killed. [4] In response to the attacks, the Burkinabe government launched air campaigns to regain control of the area. [3]
Later, ACLED attributed the attack to Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), due to their involvement with other attacks in the area at the time. [5]
Ansarul Islam is a militant Islamist group active in Burkina Faso and in Mali. It was founded by Boureima Dicko, also known as Ibrahim Malam Dicko, and it is the first native Jihadi group in Burkina Faso. The group cooperates closely with Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
On September 5, 2022, a bus travelling from Djibo to the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou hit a mine outside the town of Silgadji, killing 35 people and injured dozens more.
On January 10, 2019, Ansarul Islam militants killed 20 civilians in Gasseliki, Burkina Faso. The attack came in the wake of a massacre perpetrated by the Koglweogo in Yirgou, in Barsalogho department, just days earlier.
On September 26, 2022, a convoy bound for the besieged city of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso was attacked by armed gunmen, killing 27 soldiers and 10 civilians. The Mali-based jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Gaskinde attack was a key reason for the September 30 coup in Burkina Faso, as many frontline officers were disgruntled about Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba's handling of the jihadist insurgency.
On October 13, 2022, an IED hit a civilian bus travelling along the Bandiagara-Goundaka highway in rural Mali, killing 10 civilians and injuring dozens more. The attack was alleged to be coordinated by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
Operation Tiésaba-Bourgou was a joint Franco-Malian operation against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Ansarul Islam near the Malian, Burkinabe, and Nigerien borders.
On April 24, 2022, militants from Katibat Macina attacked Malian Army bases in the cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho, all in central Mali's Mopti Region. The attacks killed fifteen soldiers and six civilians.
On December 30, 2022, dozo militants affiliated with the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) killed over 88 civilians in Nouna, Burkina Faso.
On October 29, 2022, gunmen from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed a convoy of Burkinabé soldiers near the village of Kikideni while they were on their way from Fada N'gourma to Natiaboani, Est Region, Burkina Faso.
On May 2, 2017, Malian forces were ambushed by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin fighters near Dogofry, Mali.
The battle of Gourma-Rharous took place on April 18, 2017, between French and Malian forces against an attacking Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
On March 5, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in Boulikessi. The attack was the first by JNIM since its inception that month.
On January 11, 2023, unknown jihadists killed nine civilians at a mosque in Goulgountou, Burkina Faso.
On January 28, 2023, suspected Islamic State jihadists attacked Burkinabe soldiers and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) militiamen in the city of Falagountou, Burkina Faso.
On January 28, 2023, suspected Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin militants stopped two buses headed from Banfora to Mangodara near the village of Linguekoro, Comoé Province, Burkina Faso, and killed fifteen passengers.
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 were wounded in the attack.
On January 22, 2020, six Malian soldiers were killed in an ambush by unknown jihadists in Dioungani, Mopti Region, Mali.
On July 1, 2020, Fulani militants attacked four Dogon villages in Mali's Bankass Cercle, killing at least thirty-three people.
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