Rights group urges probe into Burkina Faso civilian massacre

Militias allied with Burkina Faso's military junta have been linked to a "gruesome" massacre in a western city that left dozens dead this week, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) late Friday called on Burkina Faso's military rulers to investigate and prosecute those implicated in an apparent massacre of dozens of civilians this week.

Videos surfaced allegedly showing soldiers and militias killing members of a nomadic group, accused of collaborating with an Islamist uprising in the Sahel region, which spans northern central Africa.

What is known about the massacre?

HRW cited videos of the incident posted to social media, which it said showed the massacre of dozens of civilians in and around the western city of Solenzo on March 10 and 11.

The human rights watchdog said armed men wearing identifiable uniforms of local militias allied with the junta can be seen in the videos standing around by or walking among the bodies.

The various footage shows 58 people including women, children and the elderly "who appear to be dead or dying," HRW said.

The rights group added that the real number could be higher as the videos showed bodies piled on top of each other, with the victims' hands and feet bound.

HRW said the victims appear to be ethnic Fulani, a group of primarily nomadic herders often stigmatized across the wider Sahel, accused of working with the jihadists who stalk the region.

The rights group said the Islamist groups have exploited the Fulani's frustrations over corruption and seizure of natural resources to recruit them to their cause.

HRW's senior Sahel researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi accused security forces and militias of "committing serious crimes against an exhausted population without fear of consequence."

Allegrozzi called on authorities to "impartially investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for serious crimes."

AFP news agency cited a source on the ground as saying that the perpetrators were troops from battalions set up to counter the Islamist insurgency as well as members of pro-junta militias.

The source said the massacre appeared to be in response to an Islamist attack in the area at the beginning of March.

The so-called 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 (IS).

Together with the volunteer militias, who are armed by the government, these battalions have regularly been accused of abuses against civilians.

PM labels massacre videos misleading

Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo denounced the videos, describing them as "manipulative actions aimed at calling into question the actions of the fighting forces."

"Major counter-terrorism operations are currently underway," Ouedraogo added. "The army's steamroller is crushing the enemy in these areas,"

The PM also announced the creation of new battalions and militias, as part of what he said was a drive to recruit 14,000 soldiers and thousands of civilian support staff to fight jihadist violence.

Burkina Faso and its Sahel neighbors Mali and Niger are fighting a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region since it first took root in Mali 13 years ago.

Since 2015, the unrest has killed more than 26,000 people in Burkina Faso alone, according to conflict monitor ACLED.

That tally included more than 13,500 victims who have died following the September 2022 coup which brought the military to power.

Along with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have experienced coups in recent years by military rulers who have pledged to turn the tables on the Islamist groups.

Edited by: Kieran Burke