Solhan and Tadaryat massacres

Background

Since 2019, northern Burkina Faso has been affected by two overlapping jihadist insurgencies waged by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), both predominantly Fulani organizations that have attacked civilians along ethnic and religious lines. In response, the Burkinabe government has expanded recruitment of civilian militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), though Burkinabe security forces and VDP units have themselves been accused of mass killings of Fulani civilians.

The Attacks

On 4 June 2021, jihadists attacked the village of Tadaryat in Oudalan Province, killing thirteen civilians and one soldier, and looting motorbikes and cattle. The following day, at around 2 a.m. on 5 June, armed men on roughly 20 motorcycles attacked the village of Solhan in Yagha Province. The attackers first targeted the village's VDP outpost before entering civilian homes and carrying out summary executions. A nearby mine was also attacked. The perpetrators withdrew around dawn, roughly three hours before police reinforcements arrived, leaving improvised explosive devices on the roads leading into the village; these were later disarmed by Burkinabe army engineers.

At least 160 people were killed across the two attacks, making Solhan the deadliest single attack in the Burkinabe jihadist insurgency up to that point. Many survivors fled to Sebba, the provincial capital some 15 kilometres from Solhan. The dead in Solhan were buried by local residents in three mass graves. A government spokesman, Ousseni Tamboura, said the Solhan attack was carried out primarily by child soldiers aged 12 to 14.

Response

President Roch Kaboré condemned the "barbaric attack," offered condolences to victims' families, and cancelled a planned trip to Togo. The government declared 72 hours of national mourning, and some women planned to wear white on 7 June 2021 in a mark of respect. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "outraged," and Pope Francis referenced the massacre in prayers, calling for peace in Africa.

Responsibility

No group initially claimed responsibility. JNIM publicly denied involvement and condemned the attack on 8 June. On 24 June, the Burkinabe government attributed the massacre to Mujahid al-Qaida, a previously little-known JNIM katiba, which a government investigation said had premeditated the attack on 21 May 2021 to loot Solhan and finance JNIM operations. The Islamic State's Al-Naba publication claimed on 25 June that an "undisciplined" JNIM faction was responsible, framing it as internal JNIM infighting. Burkinabe authorities issued arrest warrants for two men, identified as Mano Tidjani and Woba Dikoure, accused of planning and leading the attack; Tidjani was said to command a JNIM base in Boundoré. Between 7 and 13 June, the Burkinabe army reported killing or injuring a dozen jihadists in a subsequent combing operation near Solhan.