Jama’a nusrat ul-islam wa al-muslimin (Jnim) claims to attack the former post base of the Jibo army, says Site Intelligence Group.
An NGO that tracks the armed group’s online activities said al-Qaeda affiliates claimed this week that they killed 200 soldiers in an attack on the Burkina Faso Army Base.
The base in the northern town of Djibo was attacked Sunday morning, with police stations and markets being targeted, security sources told news agency Reuters. There were no official tolls, but three Djibo residents told Reuters that dozens of soldiers and civilians had been killed.
Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the number of deaths. Burkina Faso military sources told Al Jazeera that the armed groups were exaggerating the number of casualties.
The US-based Site Intelligence Group tracks the online activities of armed groups said Jama’a Nusrat Ul-Islam Wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) had in a formal statement.
“The business has suffered a large number of casualties amid the rise in JNIM activities in Burkina Faso over the past month,” the site said.
The organization previously said Ousmane Dicko, head of Jnim in Burkina Faso, appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo to leave town for their own safety.
Nicholas Hak of Al Jazeera said the attack took place over several days, according to reports from Dakar in Senegal.
“One of the main military pre-post bases that were supposed to protect the town of about 200,000 people was destroyed to the ground. This was the firepower of the armed group,” said Nicholas Haku of Al Jazeera, who reported from Senegal, Dakar.
“This is one of the most deadly attacks in Burkina Faso and comes just like Ibrahim Traore. [Burkina Faso’s military leader] The country has said it has acquired territory and encourages people to return to their homes, but this latest attack proves the opposite,” Haque said.
A video on social media from al-Qaeda affiliates warned people to leave their homes, saying it would seize more territory.
“What we’re looking at here is the pivot point where these armed groups attacking the village are currently trying to take over the town. This is a major blow to the Burkina Faso army,” Haku said. Traore visited Russia and asked President Vladimir Putin to train and weapons to fight armed groups.
Jnim claimed this week responsibility for another attack targeting a military post in North Rolum province of Burkina Faso, where the group said 60 soldiers had been killed.
The attack highlights the difficulties that the three Sahel countries, controlled by military leaders, face in containment of armed groups: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Burkina Faso authorities have not commented on the latest attacks.
A prominent attack occurred in the Burkina town of Saul, where Junim fighters stormed the army’s military positions and killed soldiers, Sight Intelligence said without specifying which day occurred.
The military government came to power in Burkina Faso in 2022, but they were able to provide little stability as more than 60% of the country is estimated to be out of government control.
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