from ISSOUF TRAORE in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso Bureau
OUAGADOUGOU, (CAJ News) – THE Burkina Faso military is accused of killing at least 223 civilians, including no less than 56 children, in two villages in late February.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that these mass killings, among the worst army abuse locally since 2015, appear to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with Islamist armed groups, and may amount to crimes against humanity.
“The massacres in Nondin and Soro villages are just the latest mass killings of civilians by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency operations,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director of HRW.
“The repeated failure of the Burkinabè authorities to prevent and investigate such atrocities underlines why international assistance is critical to support a credible investigation into possible crimes against humanity.”
Late March, following a brief visit to Burkina Faso, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said in a statement that he received “assurances” from the Burkinabè government that steps were being taken to ensure that the conduct of security forces fully complied with international humanitarian and international human rights law.
HRW has previously documented serious abuses by the Burkinabè army during counterterrorism operations, including summary executions and enforced disappearances as well as indiscriminate drone strikes.
The human rights organisation has reminded that all parties to the armed conflict in the West African country are bound by international humanitarian law.
– CAJ News