Burkina Faso France (until 2023)[1] Russia (since 2024)[2] Al-Qaeda Ansar Dine (until 2017) Ansar ul Islam Islamic State An ongoing war and civil conflict between the Government of Burkina Faso and Islamist rebels began in August 2015 and has led to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians and combatants.

[9][10] Compaore's Mauritanian advisor, Moustapha Ould Limam Chafi, and General Gilbert Diendéré, both contacted several Islamist leaders in order to free hostages held by these groups.

[11] On 23 August 2015, the insurgency in the Maghreb spread to Burkina Faso, beginning with an attack on a gendarmerie by alleged Boko Haram members.

[28][29] On 5 April, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin detonated an improvised explosive device on a French military vehicle, injuring two people.

An allied detachment found the militants during a search operation, but the armed Islamist group members attacked again, killing a French soldier.

On the night of July 24, five members of Ansarul Islam were assassinated in the villages of Ndidja, Sibé and Neyba, Soum province, possibly by the new leadership.

[46] On 2 March 2018, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the French embassy in Ouagadougou as well as the general staff of the Burkinabè army.

[63][64] In early October, the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso launched a major military operation in the country's East, with French support.

[65][66][67] On 3 December, Burkinabé gendarmes repelled an ambush at Bougui, ten kilometres from Fada N'Gourma, killing six militants and injuring another.

[80] The Burkinabé Movement for Human and Peoples' Rights reported that even though no evidence was found of an attack carried out by terrorists in Kain on that date, government forces killed about sixty civilians.

[98] On 4 January 2020, a bus carrying middle school students blew up after it ran over an explosive device between Toéni and Tougan, resulting in fourteen deaths.

[100][101][102] The next day, the Parliament of Burkina Faso passed a law permitting the recruitment of civilian militias called Koglweogo to combat the growing insurgency.

[114] On 8 March, the Fulani villages of Barga-Peulh and Dinguila-Peulh, Barga department, were raided by pro-government militias, whose members killed 43 civilians.

[121][122][123] On 14 November, the Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the gendarmerie in Inata, killing 53 people, including four civilians.

The attack, which remains the greatest loss suffered by the Burkinabe military during the insurgency so far, was a major blow to government morale.

[125] In December, a group of civilians stopped a French convoy in Kaya Department, alleging that France was secretly working with the jihadists.

[126] In a separate incident during that month, Islamists killed 41 people in an ambush, including the popular vigilante leader Ladji Yoro.

Yoro was a central figure in the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, or VDP for short, a pro-government militia that has taken a leading role in the country's struggle against Islamists.

[127] On 15 January, at least 10 civilians were killed in an attack blamed on jihadist militants in northern Burkina Faso, in the village of Namssiguian in Bam province.

The Burkinabe military claimed to have lost one soldier, and two wounded in the operation, and captured many weapons, including improvised explosive devices.

[132] Damiba replaced government ministers (such as Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo) perceived to have handled the insurgency poorly with more popular figures.

[133] Allegations were raised that in the aftermath of the coup the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration may hire mercenaries from the Wagner Group in the future.

On 12 February, French forces retaliated by launching a major airstrike on an Islamist camp in Burkina Faso, killing forty rebels.

[152] On September 5, at least 35 civilians were killed and 37 wounded following a suspected jihadist attack when a vehicle in an escorted supply convoy, heading to Ouagadougou, was struck by a improvised explosive device (IED) on the main road, between the northern towns of Djibo and Bourzanga, in the north of Burkina Faso.

[153] On September 26, eleven soldiers were killed and 50 civilians were missing following a suspected jihadist attack in the northern town of Djibo in the Gaskinde area of Soum Province of Burkina Faso.

[171] On 26 November, allegedly about 3,000 jihadists affiliated with JNIM launched a major assault on Djibo, resulting in at least 40 civilian deaths.

[172] On 25 January, it was reported that Russia had sent around 100 troops, with 200 more expected to arrive, to help train the Burkina Faso Army and patrol dangerous areas.

[180] On 25 August, JNIM again launched a major attack on people digging trenches for the fortification of security outposts in the region of Barsalogho.

[184] Government forces have summarily executed a very large number[need quotation to verify] of civilians, disproportionately targeting ethnic Fulani.

[132] Villagers have been terrorized during their everyday lives, often prohibited from holding baptisms or marriages; the assassination of local elders has become a common occurrence.