2024-10-29 06:42:00
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Burkina Faso government on Tuesday 29 October of needlessly exposing civilians to the risk of jihadist attacks, following the massacre of at least a hundred of them at the end of August in the north of the country.
This murder, perpetrated on August 24 in Barsalogho and claimed by the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, linked to Al-Qaeda), is one of the bloodiest recorded in the country’s history. “An armed Islamic group has massacred at least 133 people in the city of Barsalogho (…) mostly civilians forced by the military to dig a trench to protect this city where there is a military base”, HRW explains in a report.
This figure established by the NGO “thanks to video analysis and testimonials” understand “dozens of children”to which must be added at least 200 injured. No toll was communicated by the Burkinabé authorities, but the Justice Collective for Barsalogho (CJB), made up of relatives of the victims, reported more than 400 deaths.
“Forced labor”
“This massacre is the latest example of atrocities committed by armed Islamic groups against civilians whom the government has exposed to unnecessary risks”HRW complaint. Him “testifies to the inadequacy of the Burkina Faso government’s efforts to protect civilians”the NGO insists, asking him specifically “cease” to use them “like forced labor in war zones”.
Contacted by HRW, the Ministry of Justice responded that the testimonies of forced labor “they are not proven” and mentioned the opening of an investigation by the Kaya high court.
Survivors and witnesses told HRW that soldiers “beaten” and forced the recalcitrant men to leave the city to dig a defense trench, without paying them and ignoring reports of the presence of“armed men” near the construction site.
“They spared no one”
“I didn’t want to go because I thought it was risky, but they hit me with a rope and forced me to go”a farmer from the city, like many other residents, tells HRW. “They handed us over to the terrorists”one resident complains while another states: “The fact that the army forced people to dig (…) they made us a target”. “Between 10 and 11 am, GSIM fighters killed dozens of civilians working in the military trench and others who were nearby”develop the NGO.
“They came to exterminate us. They spared no one. They arrived on motorbikes, two each. They fired continuously, as if they had plenty of ammunition. People were dropping like flies.”recalls one survivor who lost five members of his family in the attack.
Since Captain Traoré’s coup in September 2022, Burkinabé authorities have occasionally announced the opening of investigations, but have never communicated possible arrests or convictions in relation to jihadist attacks or mass killings. According to the NGO Acled, jihadist violence has caused more than 26,000 deaths in Burkina Faso since 2015, including civilians and soldiers, including more than 13,500 since the 2022 coup.
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