Burkina Faso putting civilians at risk amid conflict with rebels: HRW

Government accused of making people targets during August attack by al-Qaeda-linked armed group.

Burkina Faso should urgently prioritise the protection of civilians amid its ongoing struggle with armed rebels, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a report.

The NGO stated on Tuesday that the government put people at “unnecessary risk” during an armed group attack earlier this year. At least 133 people were killed by the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in August.

The incident in the central part of the country was one of this year’s deadliest, as Burkina Faso continues to be ravaged by attacks by armed groups.

Villagers in the Barsalogho commune, 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Ouagadougou, were forced to help security forces dig up trenches to protect security outposts and villages. JNIM fighters then opened fire on them, according to witnesses quoted in the report.

Many villagers, who were not compensated for digging the trenches, were reported to have refused to help, fearing they would be exposed to attacks. However, the report says they were forced by the military, using threats and beatings, to carry out the task.

JNIM, which claimed responsibility for the August 24 attack, said it targeted the villagers because it viewed them as fighters affiliated with the state.

HRW said it confirmed the killings through video analysis and witness accounts, adding that dozens of children were also murdered, and at least 200 more people were injured, calling the attack “an evident war crime”.

“The massacre in Barsalogho is the latest example of atrocities by Islamist armed groups against civilians whom the government has put at unnecessary risk,” said Carine Kaneza Nantulya, HRW’s deputy Africa director. “The authorities should urgently prioritise the protection of civilians.”

However, Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala rejected HRW’s assertions, noting that forced labour is forbidden by law and that accusations that the military forced people to dig the trench “are not proven”.

Fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group have killed thousands and displaced more than two million people in Burkina Faso, with half of the country outside government control.

The violence resulted in two coups in 2022. However, the military government has struggled to meet its promise to end the violence despite seeking new security partnerships with Russia and neighbouring countries in West Africa.

The government’s reliance on armed civilian groups, known as Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, is also putting civilians in danger, Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW, told The Associated Press news agency.