A deadly jihadist attack targeted a military detachment on Tuesday June 11 in the town of Mansila, in the northeast of Burkina Faso, near the Nigerien border. The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) claimed responsibility for the assault, claiming to have killed more than 100 soldiers, while witnesses reported numerous civilian victims.
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A rain of heavy weapon fire and dozens of deaths. Jihadists stormed a military detachment on Tuesday June 11 in the town of Mansila, in the northeast of Burkina Faso, near Niger. The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack during which it claimed to have killed 107 soldiers, captured seven others and seized numerous military equipment.
On site, witnesses denounce massacres of civilians and looting. The authorities, for their part, have not commented on these events.
Military losses and spoils of war
Obtained by France 24, videos filmed by the terrorist group reveal the details of the attack. We see dozens of men on motorcycles, heavily armed, launching an attack on the barracks of the defense and security forces. The attackers are equipped with heavy machine guns and “the fire is very heavy,” comments Wassim Nasr, specialist in jihadist movements at France 24. “They wear a distinctive sign, a green turban, so that once in the fray they can distinguish soldiers”, underlines the journalist.
In a press release published on June 16, the group claimed a heavy toll: 107 soldiers killed, seven military prisoners as well as the capture of numerous equipment (three vehicles, 142 Kalashnikovs, 449 magazines, rockets, mortars, shells, boxes of ammunition, as well as a drone). Spoils of war immortalized on video by the terrorist group.
“These barracks attacks aim to kill soldiers, but also and above all to stock up on weapons, ammunition and fuel,” analyzes Wassim Nasr.
“Revenge” against the army
In its press release, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims claims to have carried out this attack “in revenge for the crimes committed by the army and militias”. A reference to the abuses of Burkinabè soldiers and their auxiliaries, the Volunteers of the Fatherland (VDP), regularly documented by international NGOs, and which the jihadists themselves filmed several times when arriving on the scene after the passage of the soldiers.
In mid-May, France 24 revealed images of new massacres of civilians perpetuated by the army south of Dori, in a region in the northeast, neighboring that of Mansila.
Read alsoMassacres in Burkina Faso: videos overwhelm the Burkinabè army
On April 25, Human Rights Watch denounced the massacre by the army of 223 civilians, including women and children, two months earlier in two northern villages, Nondin and Soro, close to the border with Mali. “These massacres, among the worst abuses by the army in Burkina Faso since 2015, appear to be part of a generalized military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed Islamist groups,” the NGO underlined in its report.
Massacre of civilians
In its press release, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims poses as the defender of civilian populations in the face of a predatory army. However, their attack was not limited to the military camp: the jihadists also attacked the local population.
“At present, while we have not finished mourning our dead, many of our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters are missing,” denounced the Mansila students’ association in a press release published on June 15 on Facebook. “We salute the memory of the civilian victims and the defense forces who fell under the yoke of terror and barbarism. We invite the competent authorities to act in order to find the missing people and restore peace and security in Mansila and Burkina .”
In this northern locality, a witness contacted by France 24 affirms that the jihadist attack continued in the town of Mansila, very close to the barracks. “The detachment consisted of 150 soldiers, most of them died. After the attack, the jihadists looted concessions [maisons, NDLR] before burning them. They killed several dozen civilians,” laments the man who claims to have lost a member of his family during these raids.
“Shooting incident” in Ouagadougou
Although witnesses claim that Burkinabè armed forces were seen on site after the massacres perpetrated by GSIM terrorists, the Burkina Faso authorities have not yet provided any information on the events in Mansila.
On Wednesday, the day after this attack, a shell fell in the courtyard of public television, located near the presidency, in the capital Ouagadougou. An event, described as a “shooting incident” by Burkina Faso state television (RTB), which sparked strong speculation around the security of the head of the military regime in power, Ibrahim Traoré.
On Friday, a video of the head of state donating blood was broadcast on public television. Two days later, the presidency of Burkina Faso posted a message wishing a happy Eid to the country’s Muslims, accompanied by a photo of Captain Traoré praying. As if to silence the rumors.