Nearly 200 Killed in Terrorist Attack in Burkina Faso

Staff are seen at the hospital of Kaya which received more than 300 wounded. (State television)
Staff are seen at the hospital of Kaya which received more than 300 wounded. (State television)
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Nearly 200 Killed in Terrorist Attack in Burkina Faso

Staff are seen at the hospital of Kaya which received more than 300 wounded. (State television)
Staff are seen at the hospital of Kaya which received more than 300 wounded. (State television)

The Burkina Faso government said it will respond firmly to a terrorist attack that killed at least 200 people, mostly civilians, in the Barsalogho region, where terrorist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS are active.

The attack, which is the deadliest in the country this year, was carried out by dozens of heavily armed terrorists who entered the village in the early hours of Saturday morning.

For more than seven hours, they clashed with a unit of the army supported by local militia.

At least 200 people were killed, with another 300 wounded, according to an unofficial tally.

Local witnesses said every family lost at least one relative in the assault.

The assailants also targeted security forces, killing community leaders, numerous civilians, and several members of the security forces who responded to the attack.

The victims were buried in mass graves not far from the village.

Most of the injured were taken to a hospital in Kaya, the regional capital, about 45 kilometers from the site of the attack.

In light of the popular shock caused by the terrorist attack, the government sent on Sunday a ministerial delegation to the hospital, including Health Minister Robert Kargougou, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, and government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo.

Ouedraogo, denouncing the attack on national television, described it as a “cowardly and barbaric attack” carried out by “hordes of criminals” who targeted “women, children, the elderly, men, indiscriminately.”

Security Minister Sana assured the public that the Burkinabe armed forces will give “an answer so that the enemy knows that we will never again accept similar barbarism on our territory.”

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, evidence show the attack was carried by the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al-Qaeda’s branch for West Africa.

According to a local resident, the victims were mainly “young civilians, who came out in large numbers to help the soldiers dig trenches around the town, to protect themselves from possible attacks by armed terrorist groups.”

A security source said that “the response of the soldiers” and auxiliary troops “made it possible to neutralize several terrorists and avoid a greater tragedy.”

Extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS have waged a grinding insurgency since 2015 in Burkina Faso that has killed more than 20,000 people, including 4,000 in 2024, ACLED figures show.

The attacks have also displaced two million people.



White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called "special government employee," a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump," said the official.
"This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives," Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.