Al-Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Burkina Faso attack killing over 100
An al-Qaeda affiliate, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on June 11 that resulted in the deaths of over 100 soldiers in Burkina Faso. The SITE Intelligence Group reported that JNIM militants stormed a military post near the border with Niger, killing 107 soldiers and seizing control of the site. This incident marks one of the deadliest attacks on the Burkina Faso army, which has been grappling with insurgencies linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The ongoing violence in the West African Sahel region has severely impacted stability, with insurgents using captured territories as bases to launch further attacks on southern coastal countries. The conflict has left significant portions of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger outside of government control. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, noted that the military governments in these countries face considerable challenges in addressing the unrest, which is exacerbated by civilian casualties and lack of professional military recruitment.
