An armed faction connected to al-Qaeda, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has taken responsibility for an assault on June 11, resulting in the deaths of over 100 Burkina Faso soldiers in the Mansila region near the Niger border, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Sunday, SITE cited a statement from JNIM claiming that “fighters stormed a military post in the town, leaving 107 soldiers dead and seizing control of the site”.

Several videos circulated by JNIM

Various videos shared by JNIM online depicted intense gunfire around the military outpost. Another video displayed ammunition, numerous weapons, and at least seven captured Burkina Faso soldiers.

The attack in June ranks among the deadliest the West African nation has faced in recent times.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, informed Al Jazeera that the government is making efforts to combat the armed factions but has not enlisted professional soldiers.

“The government recruited 50,000 volunteers, many receiving only brief training, making them susceptible to significant losses and reducing their overall effectiveness. Incidents of this nature are happening almost daily,” he explained.

“Currently, 50-60 percent of Burkina Faso's territory remains outside government control. Despite the government's efforts, which include acquiring weapons and forming a military alliance with Russia, success has been limited.”

Regional struggles in Niger and Mali

Niger and Mali are also facing challenges restraining conflict linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). This instability is jeopardizing the security of the Sahel region as these armed groups, holding large areas in Burkina Faso and Mali, use them as bases to launch attacks on neighboring southern coastal countries.

Laessing pointed out that while Mali and Niger face comparable issues, they are more extensive in size.

“Burkina Faso is the smallest of the three nations and densely inhabited. Consequently, when the army executes attacks, many civilian casualties occur, increasing the brutality of the situation,” he remarked.

More than a decade of turmoil

Over a span exceeding ten years, armed factions have killed thousands and displaced over two million individuals in Burkina Faso.

Additionally, Burkina Faso recently topped the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) list of the world's most neglected displacement crises.

The violence in the prior year claimed over 8,400 lives, doubling the previous year's death toll, according to the NRC.

By the end of 2023, approximately two million civilians were confined in 36 blockaded towns across Burkina Faso.