According to the news, the residents of Barsalogho were shot dead on August 24. Most of the dead were women and children. Members of Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslim (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, entered the area on bikes and shot dead the residents. The United Nations first reported the death toll at approximately 200 people. JNIM later said they had killed at least 300 ‘combatants’. At least 600 people were killed in the attack, according to a French government security report.
Burkina Faso’s army ordered the digging of trenches in Barsalogho to keep the militants safe. A man who was digging a trench on the day of the incident said he was four kilometers away from the town. The first gunshots were heard around 11 am. He said, I started crawling in the trench to escape. The attackers seemed to be following the trenches. Then I crawled out and found the bloody body. Just blood and screams everywhere. Another survivor, who lost two family members in the attack, said JNIM had been killing people throughout the day. He said we collected the bodies for three days.
