Human Rights Watch accuses the military of conducting campaigns against civilians accused of having links to armed groups.
Burkina Faso's military forces “summarily executed” 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages in February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report.
The mass killings took place on February 25 in the northern villages of Nondin and Soro, according to a report published on Thursday.
The international rights organization said the massacre appeared to be part of a large-scale military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed groups.
Soldiers killed at least 44 people, including 20 children, in Nondin and 179 people, including 36 children, in nearby Soro.
HRW said it interviewed dozens of witnesses and analyzed videos and photos shared by survivors between February and March. It also reportedly obtained lists of names of victims compiled by survivors and geolocated eight mass graves based on satellite images from March 15.
On February 24 and 25, armed groups across the country carried out attacks on military targets, including barracks and bases, and on civilian infrastructure such as religious sites, killing dozens of civilians, soldiers and militia members.
While Defense Minister Mahamoudou Sana condemned what he described as “simultaneous and coordinated” attacks, he made no mention of the mass killings of civilians in Nondin and Soro.
Civilians have been trapped and displaced as a result of fighting between armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) and security forces.
Roughly half of the country is outside government control. The violence killed nearly 20,000 people and displaced more than two million.
The West African country is run by a military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traor, who seized power in a coup in September 2022, eight months after an earlier military coup toppled democratically elected President Rocha Marc Kabore.
Traore has focused on recapturing areas controlled by armed groups, but the army has drawn criticism from international rights groups for violating freedom of expression and intimidating critics as it seeks to contain the security crisis.
Nondin and Soro are believed to be among several villages in Burkina Faso's Thiou district that have been besieged by al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the report said.
“The massacres in the villages of Nondin and Soro are just the latest mass killings of civilians by the Burkina Faso army as part of its counter-insurgency operations,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director of HRW.
“The repeated failure of the Burkinabe authorities to prevent and investigate such atrocities underscores why international assistance is essential to support credible investigations into possible crimes against humanity,” Hassan said, as HRW called on the UN and African Union to support the investigation. Burkina authorities.
Frustrated by the lack of progress during years of Western military aid, the military rulers severed military ties with former colonial ruler France and turned to Russia for security support.
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on leaders of groups accused of taking hostages, including Americans, in West Africa. Among them are the two JNIM leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso.