The northern town of Djibo was assaulted and briefly occupied on May 11 by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), the principal jihadist group in Burkina Faso. Although the JNIM has had a stronghold in Soum province, where Djibo is located, since 2015, and has been conducting frequent raids and blockading the town since 2020, the scope of the attack was unprecedented.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), also known as the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, is a Salafi-jihadist coalition operating primarily in the Sahel region of West Africa. Formed in March 2017, JNIM emerged from the merger of four jihadist groups: Ansar Dine, Katibat Macina (Macina Liberation Front), al-Mourabitoun, and the Sahara branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM.

Why did the Djibo assault mark a turning point?

This attack was especially brutal. It has come to light from sources that JNIM killed over 100 troops, paramilitary members, and civilians. Dozens of troops and civilians, including women, were also kidnapped by the militants. Insurgents are shown plundering and demolishing Djibo’s army base, gendarmerie, and police headquarters in JNIM footage posted on social media. Along with pillaging fragile food supplies, members of the jihadist organization reportedly set fire to a store, a pharmacy, and a medical facility.

JNIM’s occupation of Djibo lasted longer than the last operation against the town on November 26, 2023, from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. A fighter plane sent by the Burkinabé government turned back when it came under JNIM fire.

Why were armed drones not deployed in defense?

The army didn’t utilize its armed drones for whatever reason. Following JNIM’s decision to leave, the government utilized helicopters to drop scores of soldiers into the town, which it has since retaken. However, while jihadist pressure on Djibo persists, these forces are still exposed to JNIM attacks as they lack trucks, artillery, and aircraft. The second-in-command of JNIM’s Burkinabé branch, Ousmane Dicko, called on residents to leave the town in a video that was made public two days later.

Will retaliation against civilians worsen the insurgency?

JNIM has been attacking Burkina Faso every day since the beginning of 2025, resulting in record-breaking losses in terms of both military hardware and human casualties. Burkina Faso has become a key target for this gang, which was founded in 2017 and operates throughout the central Sahel. 

They have even mobilized reinforcements from Mali. It has even started to target cities, as seen by the video’s menacing depiction of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The gang has, up till now, mostly targeted villages and small towns, so fighting for control of cities would mark a significant strategic change. The town of Diapaga in the Est area was assaulted and briefly occupied by JNIM two days following the Djibo onslaught.

This wave of assaults has demonstrated how urgently the military dictatorship, which took power in 2022, needs to modify its military-led strategy for battling rebels, notwithstanding the government’s self-congratulatory rhetoric about its successes against jihadism. Regime-aligned activists confirmed the fight on social media, but the authorities have not yet responded to this attack. They say the military defeated the terrorists, which is consistent with official propaganda.

The military may exacerbate the harm by retaliating against the residents who live close to Djibo, which is concerning. Following the November 2023 attack, they targeted these communities on suspicion of being cooperating with the militants. Hundreds of people have also been slaughtered by the military in comparable situations in other places. However, every fresh killing has simply encouraged the recruitment of jihadists.