Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa, witnessed a brutal massacre of at least 223 civilians, among which 56 were children and babies, by the soldiers in a village raid in one single day, on February 25, 2024, Human Rights Watch reveals today.
In its investigation, Human Rights Watch found that the civilians were blatantly executed making it to be the worst military abuses in the West African nation in nearly a decade.
‘Crimes Against Humanity’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that the massacres that occurred in the villages of Nondin and Soro in the Thiou district of northern Yatenga province may have been "crimes against humanity."
179 people, including 36 children, died in Soro village and 44 people, including 20 children, died in nearby Nondin village as a result of the incidents on February 25. In order to confirm the events, HRW researchers collected eyewitness accounts along with authenticated images and videos.
Massacre disguised as Military operation against Jihadist Violence
According to witnesses and survivors of the attack on February 25, which took place just 25 kilometres (15 miles) away from Ouahigouya, the killings appeared to be in retaliation for an Islamist attack on a military base nearby.
In Burkina Faso, in the name of a military operation against jihadist violence, soldiers kill people by accusing them of supporting the Islamist extremists, all this is a part of a larger offensive against civilians.
What happened on Feb 25?
On February 25, villagers reported that soldiers arrived in Nondin and then Soro, which is 5 kilometres away, and accused residents of helping the jihadists.
“They said we do not cooperate with them [the army] because we did not inform them about the jihadists’ movements,” a 32-year-old female survivor from Soro, who was shot in the leg, told HRW.
In Soro, villagers described soldiers shooting people who had been rounded up or tried to hide or escape.
“They separated men and women in groups,” a 48-year-old farmer told HRW. “I was in the garden with other people when they [soldiers] called us. As we started moving forward, they opened fire on us indiscriminately. I ran behind a tree, and this saved my life.”
In Nondin, witnesses described soldiers going from house to house, telling people to come out and show their ID cards. They then gathered the villagers together and began shooting at them. Soldiers also fired at those attempting to escape or hide.
Horrors of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is suffering from violence between jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, and government-backed forces. With over two million people displaced, civilians, many of them children, are caught in the midst. Because of the nation's oppressive government, which silences dissent, the majority of attacks go unreported and unnoticed.
In 2022, it witnessed two coups, the latest led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, now serving as interim president, who came into power with commitment to combat terrorism. Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the previous leader of the junta, was overthrown by Artillery Unit Leader Traoré, 34, who claimed that the security situation had gotten worse.
The HRW report offers a rare firsthand account of the killings from survivors, amid a rise in civilian casualties caused by Burkina Faso’s security forces. The government struggles to fight a growing jihadist insurgency and sometimes targets residents in the name of counterterrorism.
“The Burkinabè army has repeatedly committed mass atrocities against civilians in the name of fighting terrorism, with almost no one held to account,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director of HRW.
“Victims, survivors and their families are entitled to see those responsible for grave abuses brought to justice.”
This February incident is not the first of its kind, reports of an army attack in a similar raid occurred in another village on November 5, where at least 70 people, including babies, were killed, as reported by the Associated Press in April. The army similarly accused the villagers of aiding militants and carried out the massacre.
HRW urged Burkinabè authorities to launch an urgent UN-backed investigation into the atrocities. These findings emerge amidst discussions among UN officials and African leaders in Nigeria regarding strategies to combat the escalating threat of terrorism on the continent, a conference that officials from Burkina Faso chose not to attend.
Photo Credit: Multiple Sources
(Inputs from multiple Agencies)
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