Burkina Faso forces killed at least 100 civilians in a March attack, Human Rights Watch says
According to victim testimony and videos shared on social media gathered by the rights group, the attackers were Burkina Faso special forces and members of a pro-government militia, the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland. The victims were all ethnic Fulani, a pastoralist community that is widespread across the region, which the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants.
An earlier report from Human Rights Watch stated that the government's involvement was likely, because of video evidence on social media, although the findings were not definitive. The government issued a sharp denial when first reports surfaced, saying in a statement it 'condemned the propagation, on social media, of images inducing hate and community violence, and fake information aimed at undermining social cohesion' in the country.
'The viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo sent shock waves through Africa's Sahel region, but they told only part of the story,' said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. 'Further research uncovered that Burkina Faso's military was responsible for these mass killings of Fulani civilians, which were followed by deadly reprisals by an Islamist armed group. The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible.'
Burkina Faso authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the group's new report.
The landlocked nation of 23 million people has symbolized the security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and the governments fighting them.
The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.
The attack in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region, including Solenzo and other towns, began on Feb. 27 and lasted until April 2, involving hundreds of government troops and drones, according to eyewitnesses quoted in the report.
'The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run,' said a Fulani herder, 44, from Solenzo, referring to the pro-government militias.
After the attack, hundreds of Fulani residents fled across the border into neighboring Mali, the report said.
'Today, in the whole province, there are no more Fulani — they all fled or were killed or taken hostage,' said a 53-year-old man from Solenzo. 'But the other (ethnic) communities remain.'
After the government forces left, the report said that jihadist fighters from a group known as JNIM reentered the towns and carried out reprisal killings against residents, targeting the men whom it considered to be military collaborators.
'All the men had been executed in front of the health center,' said a 60-year-old woman who witnessed JNIM abuses in Tiao village, a town to the northeast of Solenzo on April 5. 'I counted up to 70 bodies.'
According to analysts, the junta's strategy of military escalation, including mass recruitment of civilians for poorly trained militia units, has exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups.
It it impossible to get an accurate picture of the situation in the country since the military leadership has installed a system of de facto censorship, rights groups said, and those daring to speak up can be openly abducted, imprisoned or forcefully drafted into the army.
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In a statement, he said that those in custody at the facility have 'access to medical care, legal counsel, meals, and the full rights guaranteed under federal law'. 'Facilities like Adelanto exist to help Ice enforce our immigration laws and keep our communities safe,' he said. 'The vast majority of detainees housed here have committed serious crimes in addition to being present in our country illegally. They are being processed quickly, fairly, and humanely.' In a statement, a spokesman for the private prison firm GEO Group said that the detention facilities it operates, like Adelanto in California and elsewhere across the country, provide 'around-the-clock access to medical care' as well as 'in-person and virtual legal and family visitation' in addition to other services. 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Brian Todd, a spokesman for the private prison contractor CoreCivic, which operates the Eloy Detention Center, said that while the company endeavors to be 'as accommodating and transparent as possible,' all congressional visits must be coordinated through Ice's office of congressional relations. He also said that the facilities were closely monitored by federal observers to ensure compliance and said claims of poor food or water quality at the center were 'patently false'. 'We know this is a highly charged, emotional issue for many people,' Todd said, 'but the fact is we operate safe, secure facilities that provide high quality services for our government partners at Ice'. Crow, the Colorado congressman, began inspections of a privately operated immigration facility outside Denver in 2019, following repeated community reports about poor conditions, disease outbreaks, access to medical care and poor food storage. 'I represent a lot of immigrants and refugees, and frequently we're dealing with their families or with constituents and checking on individual conditions or access to counsel for residents of our district,' he said. At first, access was limited – prompting his push to strengthen protections for members of Congress. He eventually created a toolkit complete with a template for oversight visits, which he now shares with other members of Congress. 'There are egregious abuses occurring on a daily basis around the country, everything from unmarked vans with masked agents jumping out and grabbing people … to the lack of access to legal counsel and a variety of abuses,' he said. 'So that's what we're worried about. And clearly this administration wants to hide their activities.' McIver, whose charges stem from an attempt to shield Newark mayor Ras Baraka from arrest during a protest at the facility, said she still has a right to conduct oversight visits – she remains a member of Congress and serves on a homeland security committee. But with a serious legal case pending, she has opted not to return – for now. 'They're using me as an example to try to be as cruel as possible to me and humiliate me and intimidate me, hoping that that will carry over to other people,' she said. Despite the risks, other Democratic members of Congress are still showing up – even when doors are slammed in their faces – because, as McIver put it, 'it's their job'. 'They're not stopping.'
