Burkina Faso’s rival armed groups turn on each other as state loses ground

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – Armed fighters from two rival groups have fought a series of increasingly deadly battles along Burkina Faso’s northern border with Mali, as the government struggles to reassert control over large parts of the country. The clashes between Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, and the ISIL affiliate in Sahel Province (ISSP) have intensified since early September, with both groups competing for territory and influence across the borderlands.

Their latest confrontations have produced competing claims of heavy casualties, although the figures released by the ISIL (ISIS) group remain unverified. One of the first major confrontations took place near Kacham, close to the Mali border, in early September.

ISSP claimed to have killed more than 200 JNIM fighters, captured more than 30 others and seized weapons and motorcycles. The claim has not been independently verified.