Burkina Faso: jihadist terrorist group attack university

On the evening of July 19th in Burkina Faso, the University of Fada N’Gourma has once again been targeted by the jihadist terrorist group known as JNIM, reported Radio France Internationale on July 20th. 

A significant amount of machinery and construction equipment used to build roads on campus were set on fire and destroyed. The terrorist group has struck the university on several occasions recently, targeting the university’s security post a few weeks ago.

No casualties were caused by this most recent attack. The assailants severely damaged equipment owned by a company carrying out work at the university, and university security was unable to contain the fires started by the attack, a local source reported.

This is the third time in three weeks that Fada N’Gourma, a university around 200km east of Ouagadougou, has been targeted by attacks. At the end of June, an attack on the university police station killed seven police officers and one soldier. Jihadist terrorist organization, Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (literally translated as the Support Group for Islam and Muslims) claimed responsibility. A few days later, armed men returned to the site and fired on the buildings without causing any casualties.

The university is located on the northern outskirts of the town of Fada N’Gourma, in a region bordering Niger, where the jihadist group JNIM, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, is particularly active.

The recent string of attacks highlights the current climate of unrest in the region, caused not only by jihadist attacks but also by the current military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, whose government has been accused of human rights abuses and mass killings by Human Rights Watch.

Radio France Internationale, Maghrebi.org