Latest news with #IlariaAllegrozzi
Zawya
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Mali: 22 Men Found Dead After Arrest by Soldiers
Mali 's government should credibly and independently investigate the apparent extrajudicial executions of at least 22 men taken in military custody on May 12, 2025, in the town of Diafarabé, central Mali, Human Rights Watch said today. Residents who saw the bodies three days later said the victims were in two shallow mass graves with their throats slit. On May 16, the chief of staff of the Malian armed forces announced a gendarmerie investigation into the disappearance of civilians in Diafarabé and that a military team was deployed to the town to collect testimonies and organize searches. A military investigation of an alleged massacre by soldiers raises grave concerns that the inquiry will not be independent or impartial, Human Rights Watch said. 'The killing of at least 22 men in military custody puts a burden on the Malian authorities to demonstrate that its investigation is credible and to make public its findings,' said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. 'Authorities should fully and fairly prosecute all those responsible and promptly provide compensation to the victims' families.' Between May 13 and 18, Human Rights Watch interviewed by phone five people who witnessed the arrests, one man who was arrested and survived the executions, and five others with knowledge of the incident. Local sources gave Human Rights Watch a list of 22 victims, all ethnic Fulani men between the ages of 32 and 67. The witnesses also said five additional men were arrested, including at least one ethnic Tamasheq, but their names and ages were not known. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the arrests took place between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. during a military operation in Diafarabé, along the Niger River in Mali's central Mopti region. They said that Malian soldiers took in custody at least 22 Fulani men who were trading at the local cattle market and took them to the river. There, soldiers apprehended at least five other men, loaded them onto a canoe, and took them across the river. 'Armed soldiers wearing Malian military uniforms entered the market on foot and started arresting Fulani traders,' a 53-year-old trader said. 'They tied their hands behind their back before they took them to the river and blindfolded them.' Witnesses said at around 2 p.m. on the same day, they saw the soldiers return to town without the arrested men. The following day, women staged a protest in front of the Diafarabé military base calling on soldiers to provide information about their relatives, without success. Additional residents joined the protest, which continued until May 15, when the military agreed to escort a delegation of approximately 19 people from Diafarabé to the site across the Niger river where the arrested men were taken. 'We found about 22 bodies in two poorly dug mass graves,' said a man whose father was among those killed and went to the location of the killings with soldiers. 'All the men had their throats slashed, some appeared almost decapitated. It was so horrible that even a military commander who was accompanying us had to sit down not to faint.' The bodies were exhumed and reburied in the two mass graves at the execution site. A man who was detained and escaped the executions said: 'I was not blindfolded well.… [S]oldiers used our scarves to cover our eyes, but I could see what was going on.' He said that after they crossed the river, the soldiers took them to a place located near the Diafarabé cemetery and ordered them to sit down. 'Then, they took people in small groups of two or three and slit their throats.… I could hear the loud screaming.' He said that when soldiers were coming for him, he ran away. 'As I stood, the scarf covering my eyes fell and I ran as fast as I could … [S]oldiers shot at me three times, but I wasn't hit.… [A] soldier chased me, but I hid … I heard soldiers in the back telling the one chasing me, 'If you don't catch him, we will kill you.'' The survivor said that he waited until soldiers left to cross the river again. International media also reported on the Diafarabé killings. On May 16, Human Rights Watch contacted the Malian authorities to share its findings on the events in Diafarabé and seek a response. At the time of publication, the Malian authorities had not responded. The massacre occurred amid the security and humanitarian crisis that Mali has been grappling with since 2012, when Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Sahel began carrying out major attacks. These armed groups, which have largely recruited from the Fulani community, have attacked civilians as well as government security forces throughout Mali. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and forcibly displaced over 350,000 more.' Witnesses in Diafarabé said they believe the soldiers targeted Fulani men, whom they accused of collaborating with the Islamist fighters. The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) is present in the Mopti region where it frequently carries out attacks against the security forces and allied militias. Human Rights Watch has extensively documented serious abuses by the Malian security forces during counterinsurgency operations across Mali, including mass killings, enforced disappearances of civilians, and unlawful drone strikes. All parties to Mali's armed conflict are bound by international humanitarian law, notably Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary laws of war. Common Article 3 prohibits violence against anyone in custody, 'in particular murder of all kinds.' Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent, that is, intentionally or recklessly, may be prosecuted for war crimes. Commanders may be liable for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility if they knew or should have known about abuses by forces under their control but did not stop or punish them. 'The commander of the Diafarabé military base should be immediately suspended pending the outcome of a thorough investigation,' Allegrozzi said. 'The authorities need to take all necessary measures to ensure that survivors and witnesses to this incident are protected.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Euronews
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Burkina Faso forces killed more than 130 civilians, HRW says
Burkina Faso's army directed and participated in a massacre by pro-government militias of at least 130 civilians in March around the western town of Solenzo, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The findings, published in a new report on Monday, were based on witness testimony and an analysis of footage shared online. The attack was directed against the Fulani ethnic group, who have been displaced en masse in recent months from Banwa province. After the March massacre, the Al Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) retaliated with a series of attacks in Sourou, a province to the north. The Islamist armed group targeted villages believed to have helped the army, killing at least 100 civilians, according to HRW. '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 HRW. '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.' Allegrozzi called on the government to 'impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible'. HRW interviewed dozens of witnesses to the attacks, and viewed videos showing abuses by pro-government volunteers (VDPs) against Fulani civilians near Solenzo, as well as analysing information posted on social media. 'Thousands of Fulani families from over 20 villages set out for [neighbouring] Mali in search of protection,' said a Fulani herder, 44, from Solenzo, whose eight family members were killed in the attacks. 'However, we couldn't reach Mali without crossing villages [that were] occupied by the VDPs and the army. The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run.' Witnesses described the direct participation of the country's army alongside VDPs in the operation, including the use of military helicopters. They also mentioned the targeting of Fulani civilians. A 50-year-old woman from Solenzo told HRW: 'I heard the VDPs saying in the Djoula language: 'Nobody will escape! Look for the Fulani everywhere. We are going to kill all Fulani.'' Such testimony was said to corroborate statements by VDP members recorded in videos reviewed by the organisation. In a statement published on 15 March, a government spokesperson said that on 10 March, militia and security forces fought off a 'terrorist' attack and killed about 100 assailants before chasing others through the bush. The spokesperson said the security forces and VDPs 'took over the forest to dismantle the terrorist base.' They found women, children, and older people 'whom the terrorists tried to use as human shields, as well as a large herd of stolen cattle and goats,' and took them to safety. However, witnesses contradicted the government's account, saying no fighting took place between government forces and the Islamist fighters near Solenzo, and that the military operation appeared to have been carefully planned. Islamist armed groups have focused on recruiting from the Fulani community, and the government has long conflated the two. Fulani witnesses said the recent military operation had displaced most Fulani people from Banwa province. Hundreds were said to have fled across the border into neighbouring Mali. 'Today, in the whole province, there are no more Fulani – they all fled or were killed or taken hostage,' a 53-year-old man from Solenzo told HRW. Following the attacks near Solenzo, the military proceeded toward Sourou, which has been under the control of the JNIM for seven years. Villagers said the army remained in the village for about two days. The JNIM subsequently returned and targeted men it believed had collaborated with the army and its backers. 'All the men had been executed in front of the health centre,' said a 60-year-old woman. 'I counted up to 70 bodies.' Allegrozzi said that the 'scope of the atrocities" by government forces, militias and Islamist armed groups in western Burkina Faso "remain grossly overlooked". She called on the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council to urgently place Burkina Faso "high on their agendas and act to protect civilians still at grave risk". The Sahel region of Africa now accounts for "over half of all terrorism-related deaths", according to a report by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) published in March. Burkina Faso's military junta seized power in 2022, after the country's government struggled to control Islamist insurgencies. Burkina Faso authorities did not immediately reply a request for comment.
Al Jazeera
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Burkina Faso army, militias killed 130 members of ethnic group, HRW says
At least 130 civilians belonging to the Fulani ethnic group were killed by Burkina Faso's army and allied militias near the western town of Solenzo in March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The killings took place amid a major weeks-long military campaign by special forces that resulted in 'widespread civilian deaths and massive displacement' of the Fulani pastoralist community in the region, the rights group said in a report on Monday. It added that an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group called the Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) then carried out a series of retaliatory attacks, hitting villages that the armed group perceived as having assisted the military. Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW, said in a statement the 'the viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo' that cirinitially circulated 'told only part of the story'. '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,' Allegrozzi added. 'The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible.' HRW had reported in March that the government's involvement was likely due to video evidence online. At that time, the government strongly denied the allegations, 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 West African country. Burkina Faso's government and army did not immediately react to Monday's report, which alleged that the Burkinabe army 'led and participated in the massacre of more than 130, possibly many more, ethnic Fulani civilians by pro-government militias'. The rights organisation's report is based on interviews with witnesses to the attacks, militia members, journalists and civil society members. Witnesses quoted by HRW said hundreds of government troops and drones, as well as a pro-government militia called the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), were involved in attacks on Solenzo and other towns in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region. The witnesses said most of the victims in Banwa province were women, children and older people. Military helicopters and drones surveilled the area, 'indicating direct command control of the operation', HRW said. A 44-year-old Fulani herder, who lost eight family members, told HRW that thousands of families from more than 20 villages were forced to flee to neighbouring Mali in search of protection. 'However, we couldn't reach Mali without crossing villages [that were] occupied by the VDPs and the army. The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run,' he said. Military rulers took power in Burkina Faso in 2022, but they have largely failed to provide the stability promised, as more than 60 percent of the country is estimated to be outside government control. The military has also turned to mass recruitment of civilians who are deployed in poorly trained militia units, leading to worsening tensions between ethnic groups.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Burkina Faso army, militias killed 130 members of ethnic group, HRW says
At least 130 civilians belonging to the Fulani ethnic group were killed by Burkina Faso's army and allied militias near the western town of Solenzo in March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The killings took place amid a major weeks-long military campaign by special forces that resulted in 'widespread civilian deaths and massive displacement' of the Fulani pastoralist community in the region, the rights group said in a report on Monday. It added that an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group called the Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) then carried out a series of retaliatory attacks, hitting villages that the armed group perceived as having assisted the military. Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW, said in a statement the 'the viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo' that cirinitially circulated 'told only part of the story'. '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,' Allegrozzi added. 'The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible.' HRW had reported in March that the government's involvement was likely due to video evidence online. At that time, the government strongly denied the allegations, 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 West African country. Burkina Faso's government and army did not immediately react to Monday's report, which alleged that the Burkinabe army 'led and participated in the massacre of more than 130, possibly many more, ethnic Fulani civilians by pro-government militias'.The rights organisation's report is based on interviews with witnesses to the attacks, militia members, journalists and civil society members. Witnesses quoted by HRW said hundreds of government troops and drones, as well as a pro-government militia called the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), were involved in attacks on Solenzo and other towns in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region. The witnesses said most of the victims in Banwa province were women, children and older people. Military helicopters and drones surveilled the area, 'indicating direct command control of the operation', HRW said. A 44-year-old Fulani herder, who lost eight family members, told HRW that thousands of families from more than 20 villages were forced to flee to neighbouring Mali in search of protection. 'However, we couldn't reach Mali without crossing villages [that were] occupied by the VDPs and the army. The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run,' he said. Military rulers took power in Burkina Faso in 2022, but they have largely failed to provide the stability promised, as more than 60 percent of the country is estimated to be outside government control. The military has also turned to mass recruitment of civilians who are deployed in poorly trained militia units, leading to worsening tensions between ethnic groups.
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Burkina Faso forces killed 100 civilians in March attack, Human Rights Watch says
At least 100 civilians were killed by Burkina Faso government forces in March near the western town of Solenzo, Human Rights Watch said on Monday (May 12, 2025). 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 Defence of the Homeland (VDP). 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 Ms. 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 symbolised 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 centre,' 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 is 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.
