Burkina Faso: the authorities, ECOWAS and a collective each condemn the Karma massacre

A Burkinabe soldier patrols in the town of Ouahigouya, Yatenga province, October 29, 2018. © ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP

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On April 20, 2023, men in military uniforms surrounded the village of Karma in northern Burkina Faso. Result: 60 civilians were killed according to a prosecutor, nearly a hundred according to survivors. On 27 April, the Burkinabe transitional authorities reacted by condemning "despicable and barbaric acts". The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Burkina Faso is a member, denounces for its part "cowardly and barbaric attacks". One civil society actor believes that a tragedy of this magnitude could have been avoided.

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On April 27, 2023, the Burkinabe transitional government condemned "despicable and barbaric acts" after the Karma attack. He indicates that he will do everything for the manifestation of the truth. It was via a statement that the authorities reacted. A statement signed by government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said "the government is particularly concerned by reports of killings in unclear circumstances of dozens of people in the village of Karma."

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According to these reports, civilian populations in the locality were targeted by armed men dressed in outfits of the Burkinabe armed forces [who] allegedly massacred and looted the property of peaceful inhabitants of the village of Karma".

► Read also: Burkina Faso: survivors of the Karma massacre demand justice and truth

The authorities, who strongly condemn these acts, say they are following "very closely the progress of the investigation opened by the Ouahigouya prosecutor" and conclude by stating: "The government reassures national and international opinion that it will do absolutely everything within its prerogatives for the total manifestation of the truth in this drama."

ECOWAS evokes a "genocide

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On Thursday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Burkina Faso is a member, also reacted, reports our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel. The ECOWAS commission's statement condemns "cowardly and barbaric attacks perpetrated against civilian populations and recalls that the targeting of communities can be treated as genocide under the provisions of the International Criminal Court (ICC)".

On behalf of ECOWAS @ecowas_cedeao, I condemn with great firmness and indignation the genocide perpetrated in Burkina Faso in the Karma region. With my full sympathy, I offer my saddened condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and wish speed...

— Umaro Sissoco Embaló (@USEmbalo) April 27, 2023

In a tweet, the president of Guinea-Bissau, current president of the sub-regional institution, wants to be more precise. Umaro Sissoco Embaló "condemns with great firmness and indignation the genocide perpetrated in Burkina Faso, in the Karma region".

In his entourage, RFI was able to gather details. The men responsible for the assassinations, wearing the uniform of the regular army of Burkina Faso, would be almost identified. The testimonies go back and are shared, reports one of our interlocutors. The subregional institution will be very intransigent, says another diplomat, who recalls that President Embaló's position to see the perpetrators of these attacks against civilians quickly identified and tried by the ICC is also supported by several human rights associations.

« It is inconceivable that for hours a civilian population is massacred. »

In Burkina, local organizations are also still reacting to this killing, such as the "Collective of journalists, activists and opinion leaders threatened in Burkina Faso", created in early April. The latter issued a second communiqué in which he denounced the gagging of civil society. Dr. Arouna Louré is the spokesperson of this movement, which believes that the attack on Karma could have been stopped if voices had been expressed. "Because, when we blow the whistle on the issue, not only is the authority seized immediately, he argues at the microphone of Guillaume Thibault. It is inconceivable that, 15km from Ouahigouya, for hours, a civilian population is massacred and that the authority is not seized or that the population does not set in motion to denounce. To undermine freedom of the press and freedom of opinion is to harm the state. Because we will not be able to bring out other bells that can solve the crisis we are experiencing today."

Dr. Arouna Louré, spokesperson for the Collective of Journalists, Activists and Opinion Leaders under Threat in Burkina Faso

Guillaume Thibault

Arouna Louré says: "For quite some time now, we have been witnessing a certain muzzling of civil society in Burkina Faso, which does not favour the emergence of a real form of democracy. Everyone is afraid to speak out publicly about what is wrong. When you do, you are called stateless and anti-nation. And we repeat: to have this freedom of opinion and expression is not to be against the homeland. That is what it means to be for the nation. Because regimes follow one another, but the nation remains.

► Read also: North of Burkina Faso: sixty people killed by men in army uniform

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• Burkina Faso
• ECOWAS
• Umaro Sissoco Embalo