Up to 600 people were shot dead by al Qaeda-linked militants during an attack on the town of Barsalogho in Burkina Faso in August, according to a new assessment from the French government that nearly doubles earlier death tolls, reported CNN.
The assault, in which civilians were gunned down while digging trenches for defence, could be one of the deadliest single attacks in Africa in recent decades.
The locals were ordered by the military to dig extensive trenches around the town for protection against jihadists. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) militants attacked these defences while they were still being constructed, wrongly alleging that the civilians were combatants due to their involvement in the trench work, according to eyewitness accounts.
JNIM Militants opened fire methodically as they approached the outskirts of Barsalogho on motorcycles, targeting villagers who lay helpless in the freshly upturned dirt.
CNN reports that many of the dead were women and children, and footage posted by pro-JNIM accounts on social media captures the chilling sounds of automatic gunfire and the screams of victims attempting to play dead.
If confirmed, this horrific death toll would highlight an unusually brutal moment in the Sahel, a region increasingly plagued by lawlessness. Security efforts led by the United States and French militaries have struggled to curb the advance of jihadists, especially following a series of coups across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which resulted in the withdrawal of French and American forces. The Russian mercenaries summoned by the juntas to bolster their control have instead left a vacuum in which jihadists have thrived, according to the assessment provided to CNN by a French security official.
The United Nations originally estimated that at least 200 people had died. In contrast, JNIM claimed responsibility for the deaths of nearly 300 individuals, insisting that their operation targeted militia members connected to the army, rather than civilians. This information comes from a translation by the Site Intelligence Group, as reported by Reuters.
A French official indicated to CNN that the security situation in Burkina Faso has significantly deteriorated, with armed terrorist groups gaining increasing freedom due to the inability of security forces to respond effectively. The report mentions an attack on a military convoy in Tawori, just 15 days before the Barsalogho incident, which resulted in at least 150 soldiers being killed. Furthermore, the military is struggling to maintain its effectiveness and credibility.
A transitional government has been running the West African country after the military seized power in 2022, capitalizing on popular discontent with previous democratically elected governments over security issues. Growing attacks by extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have devastated Burkina Faso where thousands have been killed and more than 2 million people displaced while pushing tens of thousands to the brink of starvation.
