Video of Burkina Faso massacre appears to implicate government-allied militia, watchdog says

Burkina Faso junta leader Ibrahim Traore participates in a ceremony in Ouagadougou, Oct. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Kilaye Bationo, File)

DAKAR, Senegal — Video footage circulating on social networks of a recent civilian massacre in Burkina Faso appears to implicate government-allied militia, Human Rights Watch said, calling on authorities to investigate and prosecute all those responsible.

According to testimonies collected by the watchdog, security forces and allied militias carried out large-scale operations in the Solenzo countryside on Monday and Tuesday, and targeted displaced Fulani in apparent retaliatory attacks against the community, which the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants.

“The gruesome videos of an apparent massacre by pro-government militias in Burkina Faso underscore the pervasive lack of accountability of these forces,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Burkinabè authorities should take immediate action to end militia group attacks on civilians by punishing those responsible for atrocities like in Solenzo.”

The government of Burkina Faso refused to comment on the report.

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation of 23 million in Sahel, an arid strip of land south of the Sahara, in recent years has become the symbol of the security crisis in the region. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups and the government forces fighting them, much of it spilling over the border with Mali, and by two ensuing military coups.

The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60 per cent of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.

Based on video analysis, media reports, and local sources, most victims of the massacre in Solenzo appear to be ethnic Fulani, the Human Rights Watch said Friday. At least 58 people appear to be dead or dying in the videos, including at least two children, it said.

According to analysts, the junta’s strategy of military escalation, including mass recruitment of civilians for poorly trained militia units, has exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups. Data gathered by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project show that militia attacks on civilians significantly increased since Capt. Ibrahim Traore took power.

Human Rights Watch says Burkinabè armed forces and militias have committed widespread abuses during counterinsurgency operations, including unlawful killings of Fulani civilians accused of supporting Islamist fighters.

It it impossible to get an accurate picture of the situation in the country since the military leadership has installed a system of de facto censorship, rights groups said, and those daring to speak up can be openly abducted, imprisoned or forcefully drafted into the army.

Monika Pronczuk, The Associated Press