Siege of Djibo

Siege of Djibo
Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso and Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)

World Food Programme helicopter landing in besieged Djibo, September 2022
Date16/17 February 2022 – present
(2 years, 9 months and 3 days)
Location
Djibo, Burkina Faso
14°06′04″N 01°37′50″W / 14.10111°N 1.63056°W / 14.10111; -1.63056
Belligerents
 Burkina Faso
 France[1] (until February 2023)[2]
Supported by:
 United Nations (food supplies)[3]

Ansar ul Islam[4]
Al-Qaeda[5]

Commanders and leaders
Burkina Faso William Baguera[6] Jafar Dicko (Ansar ul Islam)[7]
Tidiane Djibrilou Dicko † (JNIM)[5]
Units involved

Burkina Faso Armed Forces

Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP)[10]
French Air Force[1] (until February 2023)

Several JNIM groups[11]

  • Tidiane Djibrilou Dicko's "katiba"[5]
Siege of Djibo is located in Burkina Faso
Siege of Djibo
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Location within Burkina Faso

The siege of Djibo[12] is an ongoing blockade of the city of Djibo in Burkina Faso by several factions of Jihadist Islamist rebels. The siege began in February 2022, and is part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso.

Djibo is located in Burkina Faso's north, an area which is one of the centers of Jihadist rebel activity. Since the start of the Jihadist insurgency in 2015, the city was gradually isolated from the rest of the country as the rebels increased their attacks. From early 2022, the rebels organized a large-scale blockade by first evicting villagers from the territories around Djibo, forcing the refugees to seek shelter in the settlement. They then began to attack the local infrastructure, prevented people from leaving Djibo, and ambushed supply convoys to the city, subjecting its inhabitants to starvation. Though the Burkinabé security forces have been able to occasionally transport new supplies to Djibo, the situation of the encircled population became increasingly difficult as months passed. Negotiations between government representatives and insurgents, aimed at ending the siege peacefully, were sabotaged by pro-government militias. By early 2023, the blockade had been strengthened to the point that Djibo was mainly supplied via airlift.

  1. ^ a b Sophie Douce (29 September 2022). "Burkina Faso : à Djibo, une vie sous blocus djihadiste". LeMonde (in French). Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  2. ^ "French army officially ends operations in Burkina Faso". France 24. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference rfi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Sophie Douce (6 May 2022). "Burkina Faso attempts difficult talks with jihadist groups". LeMonde. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Burkina Army Kills Jihadist Chief, Say Security Sources". Defense Post. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Burkina Faso: la valse des bérets se poursuit au sein des Forces armées nationales". aujourd8.net (in French). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  7. ^ Sam Mednick (27 April 2022). "Burkina Faso to support local talks with jihadists: A Q&A with the minister of reconciliation". The New Humanitarian. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ^ Inoussa Sankara (24 February 2022). "Burkina Faso: les populations de Djibo appellent le MPSR de toute urgence,le récit d'une ville qui souffre le martyr entre les mains des terroristes". libreinfo.net (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Burkina Faso military leader says discussions ongoing to restore "calm and serenity"". Reuters. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. ^ "An Initial Assessment of Burkina Faso's Transitional Leadership". Crisis Group. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Burkina Faso: Humanitarian overview of Djibo town surrounded by armed groups - Briefing note – 19 October 2022". ACAPS. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Siege of Djibo in Burkina Faso is a potential humanitarian disaster". Africanews. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.