Burkina: more than a hundred civilians would have been killed during abuses by the armed forces
A Burkinabe soldier in Ouagadougou (illustrative image) AFP PHOTO / SIA KAMBOU
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Following a military operation in early April in the Oudalan region in the far north of Burkina Faso, a few kilometers from the Malian and Nigerien borders, soldiers reportedly attacked civilians.
Several sources have reported to RFI attacks on villages.
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Sokoundou, Wassakoré, Kacham, Tin-Rhassan… these villages were allegedly attacked last week by Burkinabè soldiers.
"
In some localities, they killed all the men, including teenagers
," said a young man from the region.
These localities are in the sylvo-pastoral reserve of the Sahel.
A forest area that often serves as a refuge for terrorists.
In a speech on April 1, President Damiba announced a “
formal ban on civilian populations residing or carrying out activities in certain areas of military operations.
»
“
But where can they go?,
indignantly a notable of the region.
Those who were killed last week were taken for terrorists, just because they were at home.
»
Sources on site estimate that this violence claimed more than a hundred victims.
“
Very serious allegations that the army forcefully refutes,
explains a source close to the Ministry of Defense.
The Burkinabè army attaches great importance to respect for human rights.
»
Based on data from the NGO ACLED, published in October 2021, the Burkinabè authorities claim a 77% drop in violence carried out by their armed forces against civilians.
In their latest news bulletin, published this week, the Burkinabè armed forces announced that they had killed more than 130 terrorists between March 15 and April 15.
Thousands of displaced
This violence caused significant population displacements, nearly 4,000 according to sources on the spot, towards the localities of Gorom Gorom, Markoye, and on the other side of the borders.
"
They are more than 3,500 and still continue to arrive
", explains a personality from Gorom Gorom.
On foot, sometimes in carts, accompanied by a few small ruminants, whole families come to seek help in this commune.
A little further north, in Markoye, a few kilometers from Niger, a similar situation.
Arrived in these communes, the displaced people find the little help that the local populations can grant them.
“
We were already hosting nearly 30,000 displaced people,
” explains a Gorom Gorom official.
Before we had some help from NGOs or the World Food Programme, but now we only have some donations from social action.
»
And this crisis overflows, on the other side of the border.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Niger estimates that 15,000 displaced people have recently arrived from Burkina.
The majority are in areas inaccessible to humanitarian assistance due to insecurity.
The issue of internally displaced persons is a major challenge for the Burkinabè authorities.
In their latest bulletin, published in February, the United Nations lists more than 1.7 million.
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Burkina Faso