A brutal attack carried out by an al-Qaeda-affiliated group has resulted in the deaths of 22 civilians and the injury of 4 others in Burkina Faso. The attack took place on Friday in the village of Solhan, situated in the Bangaba district within the northern Sahel Region of the country.

This tragic incident was reported on Saturday by Zagazola Makama, an expert in counterterrorism and insurgency issues within the Lake Chad Basin, via a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Citing local sources, Makama confirmed that militants from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a group aligned with al-Qaeda, orchestrated the assault during morning prayers. The attackers targeted civilians as they gathered for worship at dawn, creating widespread panic and devastation.

Witnesses recounted that the assault began just after dawn, leaving the community in chaos. Emergency responders verified that all of the casualties were civilians, with the wounded rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment.

Makama also pointed out that the Sahel Region, particularly areas bordering Mali and Niger, has seen a troubling rise in violence in recent years. This escalation has led to mass displacement and a deepening humanitarian crisis across the region.