Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged Burkina Faso’s military leaders to investigate and prosecute those involved in a recent alleged massacre of dozens of civilians. HRW cited videos posted on social media that appear to show soldiers and militias killing members of a nomadic group accused of collaborating with an Islamist uprising in the Sahel region of northern central Africa.
The human rights organization said that armed men wearing uniforms of local militias allied with the junta can be seen standing around or walking among the bodies of at least 58 people, including women, children, and elderly. The hands and feet of some of the victims were bound, suggesting the real number of casualties may be higher.
HRW mentioned that the victims appear to be ethnic Fulani, a group of primarily nomadic herders often stigmatized across the wider Sahel and accused of working with jihadists. Ilaria Allegrozzi, HRW’s senior Sahel researcher, accused security forces and militias of committing serious crimes against an exhausted population without fear of consequence. She called on authorities to impartially investigate and prosecute those responsible.
According to the AFP news agency, sources on the ground say that the perpetrators were troops from battalions set up to counter the Islamist insurgency as well as members of pro-junta militias. The massacre seems to be a response to an Islamist attack in the area at the beginning of March. The rapid intervention battalions were created by junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore to aid in the fight against Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo dismissed the videos, describing them as “manipulative actions aimed at questioning the actions of the fighting forces.” He added that major counter-terrorism operations are currently underway, and the army is crushing the enemy in these areas. Ouedraogo also announced the creation of new battalions and militias as part of a drive to recruit 14,000 soldiers and thousands of civilian support staff to fight jihadist violence.
Burkina Faso, along with its Sahel neighbors Mali and Niger, is fighting a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region since it first took root in Mali 13 years ago. The unrest has killed more than 26,000 people in Burkina Faso alone since 2015, according to conflict monitor ACLED.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/rights-group-urges-probe-into-burkina-faso-civilian-massacre/a-71930332?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
