Terror in Burkina Faso
Islamist armed groups in?Burkina Faso ?have escalated their attacks on civilians, massacring villagers, displaced people, and Christian worshipers. Since February, armed groups have killed at least 128 people in a surge of violence across the country.
Government forces have been fighting insurgencies by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), since the armed groups entered Burkina Faso from Mali in 2016.
From May to July this year, Human Rights Watch interviewed 37 people, including 31 witnesses to attacks on civilians and shared our findings with government officials in Burkina Faso.
At least 12 civilians were killed in one attack on a church in the village of Essakane in February. “I saw a huge pool of blood and traces of blood all over the church, as well as bullet marks on the benches,” said a 28-year-old man who lost his 49-year-old brother, a teacher, in the attack told us. The ISGS?claimed?responsibility for the attack.
No warring party has claimed responsibility for the other attacks, but witnesses said they believed the attackers were members of Islamist armed groups because of their mode of operations, choice of targets, and clothing, including turbans like those worn during these groups’ previous attacks.?
“The jihadists opened fire in the village indiscriminately,” said a 35-year-old farmer who witnessed another attack by alleged Islamist fighters in the town of Sindo on June 11. “I hid in a shop, and I could hear heavy gunshots above my head.”
Human Rights Watch has previously?documented ?other Islamist armed group abuses in Burkina Faso, including summary executions, sexual violence, abductions, and pillaging. The groups have also?attacked ?students, teachers, and schools, and continue to?besiege ?several localities across the country, planting explosive devices along the roads leading to the towns, and cutting residents off from food, basic services, and aid.
The Burkinabè government has made little progress in investigating, much less prosecuting, those responsible for the many grave offenses committed as part of the armed conflict since 2016.
As the civilian death toll rises, the time for action to end these horrific abuses and secure justice for civilians is now.
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Social Activist | Founder of Bodhikaya Foundation | Educator | Shaping Policy | Empowering Communities & Inspiring Growth with Corporate Training | Advancing Holistic Development with Strategic Vision & Sustainable Plans
1 个月It’s tragic to see the suffering in Burkina Faso, where over 600 innocent lives were brutally taken by Al-Qaeda, yet the world remains largely silent. While global attention is focused on conflicts with political and monetary stakes, the people of this West African nation are being neglected. It raises serious questions about the priorities of the international community. The value of human life shouldn’t be determined by political interests or financial gains. Every life matters, and the crisis in Burkina Faso deserves the same level of attention and urgency. The hypocrisy in selective attention to suffering is alarming.
Customer Success Specialist @ Teleperformance | New Business Development
1 个月The Silence of the Powerful, the Suffering of the Small To Filippo Grandi, Mamadou Baldé, and Dr. Hanan, Names of power, but hearts turned to stone, Before our suffering, you turn your eyes away, While my children, lost in shadows, stray. You know, yet you remain silent, Our cries, our pleas, ignored in defiance. Filippo, Mamadou, Hanan—how many more letters? How many broken dreams will it take for you to care? With every refusal, another breath fades, With every silence, we step closer to the grave. Complicit in my exile, my wandering fate, You watch my children fall into a world of hate. They no longer know the meaning of peace, They grow up without school, without rights, without ease, And you, the guardians of hope, Refuse to offer a lifeline, to help us cope. Your refusal is another blow to our lives, Your indifference, a betrayal that never dies. How many souls will you sacrifice to injustice, Before your hearts break free from this complicit silence?
Security Officer at Institution
2 个月Interesting
--INNORIGHTS GHANA LBG
2 个月I wish to commend HRW for this exposé. Civilians have come under siege in many parts of the world. Women have been subjected to inhumane, atrocious and barbaric treatment in many countries especially in Africa. Children have suffered egregious neglect and abuse in most of the Sahel regions in Sub Saharan Africa but all these have been spoken of only mutedly. For how long must this persist. When women, innocent civilians, the aged, the People With Special Needs and above all Children continue to suffer from pernicious and deadly attacks by militant groups and incessantly ignore all international protocols, we all need to stand up and say Enough is Enough Now! Africa needs and must Know Peace
full time carer of youngest wonderful autistic son at 'job of love' for youngest son
2 个月this is very sad, among so many other sad new stories in the world, and they all matter, and all the people matter, it is important though to know things that are happening, and care about things, and to have hope whatever, and not loose hope, if you believe in God in any way, please pray for the people of Burkino Faso and for so many people and other animals in other places in the world, and about different things as you know more about them and you can try and imagine how it is for people, and other animals, and have good thoughts anyway, though thankful for good happy happenings in the world #HumanRightsWatch #AmnestyInternational #OpenDoorsUkandIreland #Tearfund #WaterAid #Sightsavers #endwarnow #waternotwar #PeaceandJusticeProject #HumanityandInclusion #WorldVision #InternationalFundforAnimalWelfare #bekindtoallkings #greenisrael #Greenpeace #dec #cbm #maf #csw #refugeestories