Ansaroul Islam is a militant Islamic organization and the first jihadist militant group formed in Burkina Faso.[9] The group was formed in 2016, though its roots lay in the Al-Irchad religious network established by Malam Ibrahim Dicko in 2012.[10] Dicko was born in Soum, a province located in northern Burkina Faso along its border with Mali. He attended both religious and non-religious schools in Burkina Faso and Mali, and he later served as a religious teacher in Niger.[11]
Dicko returned to Burkina Faso in 2009 and began delivering sermons in Soum villages, preaching equality and brotherhood among different communities.[12] These sermons, given over local radios in northern Burkina Faso, appealed greatly to Burkinabes disillusioned with the dominant authority of religious leaders and the nobility and with the social stratification within Burkina Faso’s ethnic groups.[13] However, Dicko’s radical messaging and interest in the use of violence was not well received by the local population and leaders of Soum.[14] This rejection hardened Dicko’s opposition to customary authorities and influenced his decision to join the militant Islamist struggle in northern Mali.[15]
In September 2013, Dicko was arrested in northern Mali by French military forces, who suspected him of attempting to join the militant group Ansar Dine. Dicko was released in 2015 and rejoined Ansar Dine’s Amdou Koufa with the aim of opening a new front of Islamic militancy in Burkina Faso.[16] In late 2016, Dicko began mobilizing his followers to support a new militant organization – what would become Ansaroul Islam. He drew on abuses by security forces, including actions that disgraced local elders and traditional chiefs, to gain support for his cause.[17] The group officially announced its formation after its first attack on a joint Burkinabe French military camp in December 2016.[18]
Ansaroul Islam allegedly seeks to reconquer and rebuild Djeelgodji, an ancient Fulani empire in northern Burkina Faso that disappeared after French colonization in the late 19th century.[19] The organization is largely made up of members of the Fulani and Rimaibe ethnic groups but also includes members from the Mossi, Bellah, Dogons, and Songhai people. Many of these militants joined Ansaroul Islam after originally supporting Dicko’s religious network. Some have called Ansaroul Islam a “self-defense” group, as it previously defended communities where it had popular support.[20] One report described Ansaroul Islam as “at least as much a social uprising as it is a religious movement” because of the group’s roots in opposing social and political inequalities in Soum.[21]
Ansaroul Islam’s emergence was enabled both by domestic and international factors. A domestic crisis was brewing in Soum, and Dicko took advantage of growing discontent to build a network of followers. Internationally, the instability in Mali enabled Dicko to make connections with armed group leaders based along the border and to utilize Malian territory as a haven and source of supplies.[22]
Militant groups operating in the region also facilitated Ansaroul Islam’s emergence and development. A commander from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abu Bakr al-Shinquiti, was “instrumental in recruiting, training, equipping, and transferring militant tradecraft to and for the group that would announce itself as Ansaroul Islam.”[23] AQIM affiliates also associated themselves with Ansaroul Islam, including the Mali-based Salafi-Jihadist group Ansar Dine. In particular, Ansaroul Islam maintained close ties to the Macina Liberation Front (FLM, also known as Katibat Macina), which emerged in 2015 and has been described as an affiliate, branch, or brigade of Ansar Dine.[24] FLM founder and leader Amadou Koufa was reportedly a “mentor” and “close ally” to Dicko;[25] the two had met in 2015 when Dicko was in Mali.[26] Ansaroul Islam allegedly received training and supplies from FLM and Katibat Serma, another affiliate connected to Ansar Dine. [27] In December 2016, Katibat Serma militants joined Ansaroul Islam members to launch Ansaroul Islam’s first attack.[28]
In March 2017, Ansar Dine and the FLM merged to form Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) with Sahel-based militant group Al Mourabitoun and AQIM’s Saharan branch. Ansaroul Islam maintained ties with JNIM, which reportedly helped Ansaroul Islam militants develop the capabilities to employ improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in attacks. In 2017, JNIM claimed responsibility for six attacks in Burkina Faso, suggesting logistical and operational ties between the two organizations.[29]
Ansaroul Islam is also associated with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), both of which are Islamic State affiliates operating in the Sahel. Ansaroul Islam allegedly provided logistical support for an attack in Koutougou in August 2019 which was claimed by ISWAP.[30] Ansaroul Islam is also thought to have carried out joint attacks with ISGS.[31] By the early 2020s, a minority of Ansaroul Islam militants had defected to ISGS, while the majority were absorbed into the JNIM coalition. The relationship between ISGS and JNIM shifted from periodic cooperation to open conflict beginning in 2019, effectively ending the period of cross-affiliation.[32]
In its first years of operation, Ansaroul Islam was a major perpetrator of violence in Burkina Faso. Most of the group’s attacks took place in Soum, the province where group leader and founder Dicko had started preaching in 2009. Violence perpetrated by Ansaroul Islam in Soum between 2016 and 2018 displaced an estimated 100,000 people and closed more than 350 schools.[33] Group members attacked a variety of targets, including civilians, government buildings, and members of Burkinabe police and military forces. Some attacks attributed to Ansaroul Islam between 2018-2019 also included militants from JNIM and ISGS.[34]
In response to Ansaroul Islam’s targeting of civilians and Burkinabe troops, Burkinabe security forces cracked down harshly on the organization’s activities. Security forces have displaced thousands of civilians and reportedly killed noncombatants in their extensive campaign to eradicate militants from the country’s northern provinces.[35]
Ansaroul Islam has also been targeted by international counterterrorism forces, including French forces under Operation Barkhane and the G5 Sahel Joint Force supported by Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad. In April 2017, a French-led raid on an important Ansaroul Islam base resulted in the deaths of 20 militants, including group leader and founder Dicko.[36] Dicko died from natural causes following the raid, leading to Ansaroul Islam’s decline.[37] Operation Barkhane formally concluded in November 2022, and French forces were subsequently expelled from Burkina Faso in 2023, removing a significant source of counterterrorism pressure on the group.[38]
Following Dicko’s death, leadership of the organization passed on to Dicko’s younger brother and former third-in-command, Jafar Dicko.[39] Jafar Dicko allegedly “lacks his brother’s charisma,” and it has been suggested that the change in leadership led to the fragmentation and stagnation of the group.[40] One source reports that Jafar Dicko “did not immediately exercise total authority” over the group.[41]
Under the younger Dicko’s leadership, the group continued to face challenges from international counterterrorism forces, including the G5 Sahel Joint Force.[42] The United Nations Security Council’s decision to allow the Stabilization Mission in Mali to provide the G5 Sahel Force with logistical support allowed it to more effectively pursue their goal of eliminating threats from militant groups. By mid-2019, Ansaroul Islam was only associated with 16 violent events and 7 fatalities.[43] The G5 Sahel Joint Force has since dissolved; Mali withdrew in June 2022, and Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawals in December 2023.[44]
After Dicko’s death in 2017, Ansaroul Islam appears to have fragmented into smaller factions that have either been subsumed by JNIM or ISGS or have defected from the broader movement to engage in other criminal activity. As of January 2022, some Ansaroul Islam militants may still act independently, though it is difficult to attribute responsibility for any violent attacks carried out by the remaining members of the group.[45] Though Jafar Dicko did not have a role in JNIM’s central decision-making body as of 2026, he was reportedly recognized by JNIM as the top leader of all areas under JNIM control in Burkina Faso in 2022.[46]
Since 2022, Ansaroul Islam has re-emerged as a significant force within the JNIM coalition, expanding its operations under Jafar Dicko’s leadership. The group has entrenched itself around Djibo in northern Burkina Faso and has expanded its area of operations into western Niger.[47] In 2023, militant Islamist groups, including Ansaroul Islam, were responsible for more than 8,000 deaths in Burkina Faso, and had secured control over a majority of the country.[48] In June 2024, JNIM militants in Burkina Faso, reportedly associated with Ansaroul Islam, likely killed more than 100 soldiers at a military base in Mansila.[49] In August 2024, JNIM militants in Burkina Faso killed an up to 400 civilians and soldiers in an attack on Barsalogho.[50]
