Solenzo massacre
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| Solenzo massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |
| Location | Near Solenzo, Boucle du Mouhoun Region, Burkina Faso |
| Date | March 10-11, 2025 |
| Target | Fulani civilians |
| Deaths | 130+ |
| Injured | Unknown |
| Perpetrator |  VDP and 18th BIR |
Between March 10 and 11, 2025, militiamen from the pro-government Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland executed at least 130 Fulani civilians in several villages near Solenzo, Boucle du Mouhoun Region, Burkina Faso.[1]
Much of northern Burkina Faso has been the frontline of an insurgency waged by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara since 2015, with these groups intensifying their attacks on civilians seen as sympathetic to the government since 2019.[2] Within Burkina Faso, ISGS is predominantly active in the tri-border area between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.[2] Since the September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état that saw Ibrahim Traoré rise to power, the Burkinabe government and VDP auxiliaries have conducted massacres against civilian areas that have killed hundreds of civilians.[3]
At the beginning of March, there was an attack by jihadists against VDP in the area and local Fulani were suspected of harboring the perpetrators.[4] Residents of the area advised the Fulani to move their families and their cattle herds to Ivory Coast to avoid reprisals.[4] As the Fulani were leaving the Solenzo area, they were intercepted by soldiers from the VDP and the 18th BIR of the Burkinabe military.[4]