Nouna massacre

Last updated
Nouna massacre
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Nouna, Burkina Faso
DateDecember 30, 2022
Target Fulani civilians
Deaths88+
Perpetrator Dozo militiamen affiliated with the VDP
MotiveReprisal attack for a jihadist attack on the VDP headquarters in Nouna

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.

Contents

Background

The Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) is a pro-government civilian defense group formed in 2019 to repel jihadist attacks from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Ansarul Islam in northern Burkina Faso. The group has been accused of massacres against Fulanis, who make up the bulk of JNIM and other jihadist groups. [1] [2] Traditional dozo hunters in western Burkina Faso are the main local fighters of the VDP in the Nouna area, despite conflicts with Mossi Koglweogo, the predecessor to the VDP. [3] In October 2022, the Burkinabe junta led by Ibrahim Traoré announced the recruitment of 50,000 new VDPs to combat the jihadist insurgency in the country. [4]

Prior to the attack in Nouna, dozo hunters had been accused of several attacks in Burkina Faso. An attack in Loropéni in December 15 killed five civilians, and three days later, suspected VDP kidnapped and executed a father and son in Kongoussi. [5] On December 22, VDP kidnapped and executed Fulani men and the traditional Fulani leader in the village of Marmisga, and later looted the property of the villagers. [6]

Massacre

On the night between December 29 and 30, 2022, armed men belonging to Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the headquarters of the VDP stationed in Nouna. [6] [7] In response, dozo hunters affiliated with the VDP moved into the Sector 4 and Sector 6 neighborhoods, which were predominantly Fulani. [7] On the night of December 30, the dozos went door-to door, killing all men over the age of 16. [7] A report from the Collective Against Impunity and the Stigmatization of Communities, a Burkinabe rights group, stated that the dozos sought out "influential" Fulani civilians. [8] The dozos later returned to loot the houses of the civilians they killed. [6]

Aftermath

By January 2, thirty-eight people had been killed in Sector 6 and forty-eight people had been killed in Sector 4. [4] However, the death toll is likely to be higher, as those numbers are only of those who were buried under the authority of the traditional chieftain of Nouna on December 31, and more bodies were being discovered each day after the massacre. [4] Two more bodies were discovered on January 2 according to survivors in an interview with Amnesty International. [4]

On January 2, the Burkinabe government announced an investigation into the killings of 28 people in Nouna on the date of the massacre. [9]

Analysts compared the Nouna massacre to the Yirgou massacre in 2019, when Koglweogo militants killed over 100 Fulani civilians in reprisal attacks following the murder of a Mossi leader by jihadists. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nouna</span> Place in Boucle du Mouhoun Region, Burkina Faso

Nouna is a town, with a population of 32,428 (2019), located in the Province of Kossi in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Province. Nouna is a fairly developed town that boasts electricity, running water, land-line telephones, and cellular phones. It also has a high school, bank, post office, mayor's office, and several hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solhan and Tadaryat massacres</span> Insurgent attacks in Burkina Faso

On 4 and 5 June 2021, insurgents attacked the Solhan and Tadaryat villages in the Yagha Province of Burkina Faso. The massacres left at least 174 people dead. Insurgents have been attacking the Sahel Region, along the border with Mali, since Islamists captured parts of Mali in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso</span> Ongoing insurgency in Burkina Faso (2015–present)

An ongoing war and civil conflict between the Government of Burkina Faso and Islamist rebels began in August 2015 and has led to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians and combatants.

On August 4, 2022, jihadist militants ambushed a counter-terrorism operation organized by the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, killing four civilians and nine VDP militiamen. The Burkinabe government claimed that thirty-four insurgents were killed immediately after the attack.

In early July 2022, two separate massacres occurred in Bourasso, Kossi Province and Namissiguima Department, Yatenga Province in Burkina Faso. The massacre in Bourasso killed 22 people, and the one in Namissiguima killed 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yirgou massacre</span> 2019 terrorist attack in Burkina Faso

On the night between December 31, 2018, and January 1, 2019, alleged Ansarul Islam jihadists attacked the village of Yirgou, in Barsalogho Department, Burkina Faso. While initial reports claimed the attack killed six people, including the village chief and his son, later reports and investigations showed up to 210 people were killed.

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).

On December 25, 2022, a bus traveling from Fada N'gourma to the trading town of Kantchari hit a landmine near the village of Bougui, Burkina Faso. Ten people were killed and fifteen were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Boala attack</span>

On December 7, 2022, ten Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland militants, a Burkinabe civilian militia, were killed at a market in Boala Department, Centre-Nord Region, Burkina Faso. A second attack on December 10 killed seven civilians.

On March 20, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed Burkinabe soldiers in Natiaboani, Gourma Province, Burkina Faso, killing thirteen soldiers and an unknown number of jihadists.

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 January 12 and 13, 2023, jihadists kidnapped sixty-six people in two separate incidents near Arbinda, Burkina Faso. The abducted civilians were eventually freed by the Burkinabe military on January 20. The kidnappings were the first of their kind to target women during the insurgency.

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 July 1, 2020, Fulani militants attacked four Dogon villages in Mali's Bankass Cercle, killing at least thirty-three people.

Between November 2019 and June 2020, the bodies of over 180 civilians were discovered in and around the city of Djibo, Burkina Faso. Most of the killings targeted Fulani, and were committed by Burkinabe Armed Forces, Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), and Defense and Security Forces (FDS). Several mass graves were made for the victims in March and April 2020.

References

  1. ↑ Human Rights Watch (2020-12-18), "Burkina Faso: Events of 2020", English, retrieved 2023-10-27
  2. ↑ Courtright, James (2023-03-07). "Ethnic Killings by West African Armies Are Undermining Regional Security". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  3. ↑ Tisseron, Antonin (2021). "Pandora's box. Burkina Faso, self-defense militias, and VDP law in fighting jihadism" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Peace and Security Competence Center. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Burkina Faso: Perpetrators of Nouna killings must face justice". Amnesty International. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  5. ↑ Collectif contre l'impunite et la stigmatisation des communautes (January 2, 2023). "Communique de Presse". Facebook. Retrieved October 27, 2023. Dans la nuit du 18 décembre 2022, des supposés VDP ont enlevé et exécuté un père de famille et son fils (étudiant) au secteur N°1 de la commune de Kongoussi, région du Centre-Nord ;
  6. 1 2 3 Collectif contre l'impunite et la stigmatisation des communautes (January 2, 2023). "Communique de Presse". Facebook. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Burkina Faso: Perpetrators of Nouna killings must face justice". Amnesty International. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  8. 1 2 "Burkina Faso rights group reports 28 dead in suspected ethnic killing". www.jurist.org. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Rights Group Blames Volunteer Militia in New Burkina Bloodshed". Voice of America. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

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