A JNIM jihadist assault near Aorema killed at least 40 Burkinabe soldiers and VDP volunteers, triggering a retaliatory massacre of over 130 civilians.
Key Facts
- Date of attack
- April 15, 2023
- Soldiers and VDP killed
- At least 40 persons
- Wounded
- Over 30 persons
- Prior Aorema civilian massacre
- 14 civilians killed one month earlier
- Subsequent Karma massacre
- Over 130 civilians killed in retaliation persons
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) had been conducting an insurgency across Burkina Faso's Sahel region. One month before this attack, JNIM perpetrated a massacre killing fourteen civilians near Aorema, reflecting an escalating pattern of jihadist violence in Yatenga Province.
On April 15, 2023, JNIM jihadists ambushed a combined force of Burkinabe army soldiers and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) near Aorema, Yatenga Province, killing at least forty and wounding more than thirty. The VDP are civilian volunteers recruited to support the military against insurgents.
Following the attack, Burkinabe soldiers launched search operations for the perpetrators. During these operations, they killed over 130 civilians in what became known as the Karma massacre, drawing international attention to the conduct of Burkina Faso's armed forces amid the ongoing insurgency.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent