| Battle of Tin-Akoff | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Burkina Faso |  Islamic State - Sahil Province | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 15–100 killed 30 wounded | Unknown | ||||||
On February 20, 2023, jihadists from theIslamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS) ambushed Burkinabe soldiers inTin-Akoff,Oudalan Province,Burkina Faso. Between 15 and 100 Burkinabe soldiers were killed. The attack came just three days after theTin-Ediar attack, where over seventy Burkinabe soldiers were killed in an ISGS attack.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been embroiled in an insurgency by the Mali-basedJama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the Niger-basedIslamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), and the homegrown BurkinabeAnsarul Islam. These insurgent groups began besieging government-controlled towns starting withArbinda in 2019, and by early 2022 dozens of towns, including provincial capitals, were under siege by JNIM and Ansarul Islam.[1] Sieges became the modus operandi of these groups beginning in 2022, and jihadists often attacked civilians fleeing the areas while also preventing supplies and food from going in and out.[1] In 2021, northern Burkinabe towns such asInata were overrun by jihadists after months-long sieges.[2]
ISGS has a heavy presence inOudalan Province, where Tin-Akoff is located, and often ambushes Burkinabe soldiers traveling between bases in the province.[2] Three days prior to the attack, ISGS attacked Burkinabe soldiers inTin-Ediar, killing over seventy soldiers with Burkinabe officials claiming 160 jihadists were killed as well.[3]
The ISGS fighters in the Tin-Akoff attack had entered the town coming from Mali. The attack began on February 20 against a garrison of Burkinabe soldiers in the town.[4] Heavy clashes broke out between the two groups, with the Burkinabe air force intervening and carrying out several airstrikes against the town.[4] The Burkinabe soldiers fled, retreating toMarkoye.[5] The Islamic State stated that the battle lasted for only forty minutes.[3]
Security sources toldAFP that between 15 and 19 soldiers were killed in the battle, excluding the several dozen missing.[6][7]RFI reported 30 wounded.[4]Libération reported that the death toll could be as high as 100, citing security and humanitarian sources.[8] The ISGS claimed responsibility for the attack on March 18, and stated that several dozen soldiers were killed or wounded.[9]
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