Burkinabe jihadist group founded 2016 by Ibrahim Malam Dicko (d. 2017), now led by his brother Jafar Dicko. Operates inside the JNIM system; besieges Djibo.
Leader(s): Jafar Dicko
Origin: Burkina Faso (Fulani)
Area of operation: Burkina Sahel (Djibo, Oudalan, Dori)
Recent (to 21 Oct 2026)
- Reports that JNIM’s Burkina emir Jafar Dicko was killed by IS; other sources say he left the battle area (D4, Departamente, t.me/departamente/8260, 12 Oct 2026). ISSP claims it assassinated two JNIM leaders, ‘Jaber’ and ‘Siko’ (C4, Sahel Monitor, t.me/sahelmonitor/197, 7 Sep 2026).
- ~1 Aug: a statement by JNIM’s Burkina emir Jafar Dicko calls on Fulani to join the fight while rejecting an ethnic label, asks NGOs (citing WFP) to serve JNIM-held areas, and says JNIM will ‘never be the first to attack’; it is silent on the war with the ISSP (C3, Faytuks News Discord (west-africa-sahel) via @SimNasr, x.com/SimNasr/status/2083587391827128533, 1 Aug 2026).
Relationships
- Allied with / within: JNIM
- Fights: VDP (Burkina Faso)
Referenced by
- Burkina Faso armed forces (Fights)
- JNIM (Allied with)