Burkina Faso's armed forces killed at least 100 civilians in a March attack, says Human Rights Watch, says

Dakar, Senegal (AP) – At least 100 civilians were killed in March by the government of the Burkina Faso government near western city assembly, said Human Rights Watch on Monday.

According to victims testimony and videos that were shared in the social media collected by the right group, the attackers Burkina Faso Special Forces and members of a state militia were volunteers for defending their homeland. The victims were all ethnic fulani, a pastoralist community that is widespread in the region that the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants.

An earlier report From the Human Rights Watch it was found that the government's participation was likely due to video evidence on social media, although the results were not final. The government emphasized a sharp rejection, as the first reports, and said in an explanation that it “condemned the distribution on social media, of pictures that induce hate and violence in the community, and fake information that aims to undermine social cohesion” in the country.

“The viral videos of the atrocities from the government near Solenzo sent shock waves through the Sahel region of Africa, but they only told part of the story,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, Senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Further studies discovered that Burkina Faso's military was responsible for this mass murder of Fulani -Zivilists, followed by fatal reprisals of an Islamist armed group. The government must impartially examine these deaths and pursue all those responsible for criminal law.”

The Burkina Faso authorities did not immediately answer a request for comments on the new report of the group.

The internal nation of 23 million people symbolized the security crisis in the Arid Sahel Region south of the Sahara in recent years. It was shaken by violence by shaken by shaken by extremist Groups associated with al-Qaida and the Islamic state group, and the governments that are fighting against them.

The Military juntaThe strength gained in 2022 could not deliver the promised stability. According to conservative estimates, there are now more than 60% of the country outside state control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their houses and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.

The attack in the Western Boucle Du Mouhoun region, including Solenzo and other cities, began on February 27 and lasted until April 2, in which hundreds of government troops and drones were involved, according to the eyewitnesses given in the report.

“The VDPs shot like animals on us while drones flew over our heads. Many women and children died because they couldn't walk,” said a 44-year-old fulani shirt from Solenzo and referred to the government's militias.

After the attack, hundreds of Fulani residents fled across the border into the neighboring Mali, the report says.

“Today, in the entire province, there are no longer fulani-sie fled or were killed or taken as hostage,” said a 53-year-old man from Solenzo. “But the other (ethnic) communities remain.”

After the government troops had gone, the report states that jihadist fighters of a group who was known as Jnim have come back to the cities and repressals were carried out against the residents, which aimed at the men they regarded as military employees.

“All men had been executed in front of the health center,” said a 60-year-old woman, who was witness to Jnim missions on April 5 in the village of Tiao, a city northeast of Minazo. “I counted up to 70 corpses.”

According to analysts, the strategy of the Junta of military escalation, including the mass recruitment of civilians for poorly trained military units, has tightened tensions between ethnic groups.

It is impossible to get a precise picture of the situation in the country, since the military leadership is a system of de facto kidnapped, imprisoned or violently moved into the army.