Jihadist groups intensify attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso… Details

20th September 2024

1 minute read

Jihadist groups intensify attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso... Details

Islamist rebels in Burkina Faso have intensified their attacks on civilians, going door-to-door, executing people by slitting their throats, and targeting Christian worshippers, according to a report by the NGO Human Rights Watch.

The report by Human Rights Watch, released yesterday, documents the horrifying atrocities committed by jihadists, stating that the attacks are often carried out as retaliation against communities that refused to join their ranks or were accused of collaborating with government forces.

One such attack, which targeted worshippers in a church in the northeastern village of Issakani in February, resulted in the deaths of 12 people. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, one of the main extremist groups in Burkina Faso, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The report also mentions fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, several times, as in the case of the attack in the town of Sindou, in the Hauts-Bassins region, on June 11. Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that gunmen stormed the town of Mansila in June after dozens of soldiers were killed in a nearby military base.

Local residents told Human Rights Watch that jihadists went from house to house, ordering people out of their homes and killing men whom they accused of collaborating with the army. The NGO also reported that Burkina Faso’s army and its civilian affiliates had committed atrocities during operations against the rebels.

A previous report by the NGO had accused Burkina Faso’s army of killing at least 223 civilians in February. Jihadist groups control vast areas of the West African country, leaving the government in control of only about half of the national territory.