| Conflict: | August 2022 Bam attack |
| Partof: | Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso |
| Place: | Bam Province, Burkina Faso |
| Result: | Indecisive |
| Combatant1: | Burkina Faso Armed Forces Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland |
| Combatant2: | Unspecified Islamist insurgents |
| Casualties1: | 9 killed (VDP) |
| Casualties2: | 34 killed (Government claim) |
| Date: | August 4, 2022 |
| Casualties3: | 4 civilians killed |
On August 4, 2022, jihadist militants ambushed a counter-terrorism operation organized by the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, killing four civilians and nine VDP militiamen.[1] The Burkinabe government claimed that thirty-four insurgents were killed immediately after the attack.
Northern Burkina Faso has been embroiled in civil war between jihadist insurgents and the Burkinabe military since mid-2015.[2] In January 2022, disgruntled military members overthrew the Burkinabe government claiming that the president, Roch Kaboré, was not doing enough to prevent an increasing amount of jihadist attacks in the country.[3] The Damiba administration, which took power after the coup, oversaw a further rise in jihadist attacks [4] This trend continued in August, where just a day earlier the Burkinabe military had maimed civilians during a counter-terrorism operation in the southeast of the country.[5]
The attack occurred in Bam province, in the north of the country. According to a Burkinabe government statement, Islamist militants attacked government forces during a counter-terrorism operation, which left nine VDP servicemen and four civilians dead. The remaining government forces fired back, and claimed to have killed 34 insurgents.