Burkina Faso put civilians at 'unnecessary risk' during jihadist attack, HRW says
Human Rights Watch has accused Burkina Faso's government of putting civilians at unnecessary risk after at least 133 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a jihadist attack on the Barsalogho commune. The government, which denied the allegations, has relied heavily on armed civilian militias in its efforts to defeat violent Islamist groups.
Burkina Faso's government unnecessarily exposed civilians to danger during a militant attack earlier this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Tuesday.
In August, at least 100 villagers were killed by fighters from a militant group linked to al-Qaida in central Burkina Faso, in one of the deadliest attacks this year in the conflict-battered West African nation.
Villagers in the Barsalogho commune, which is 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the capital Ouagadougou, were forcibly helping security forces dig up trenches to protect security outposts and villages when fighters with the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group invaded the area and opened fire on them, according to the report.
The JNIM group, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said that all of the villagers targeted were members of militias affiliated with Burkina Faso in its response to the report.
Human Rights Watch said it confirmed through video analysis and witness accounts that at least 133 people were killed, including dozens of children, and at least 200 more were injured.
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