A non-governmental human rights organization in Burkina Faso accuses armed forces and paramilitaries of killing at least 21 civilians and torturing women in the Central-North prefecture.
A representative of the government, who was asked about this by AFP, limited himself to saying how he has no comment to make currently.
The organization CISC (Collectif contre l’impunité et la stigmatisation des communautés, “Collective against impunity and stigmatization of communities”) reported receiving “allegations of torture” and “extrajudicial executions of civilians”alleged perpetrators of which were “elements of the Defense and Security Forces” (Forces de défense et de sécurité, FDS, the army of the African country) and “elements of the Volunteers for the defense of the homeland” (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie , VDP, citizens who have joined an auxiliary force), it says in a statement.
“The toll was twenty dead, among them a woman and three children. Seven women were injured and three more people are missing”, the NGO added. Later on Saturday, the organization reported that another body, the 21st, was found, belonging to a man.
According to the CISC, the events unfolded on Wednesday “around 09:00, in the village of Tossin-Foulbet”.
The organization clarified that “over a hundred members of the FDS and VDP, in camouflage uniforms, all with their faces covered and armed” proceeded to “raid” the village, with “many vans and motorcycles”, before “shooting” men.
“They were members of our army and VDP (…) They wore uniforms with the coat of arms of Burkina Faso”an eyewitness told AFP, who also reported “21 bodies”.
According to the NGO, almost “all” the victims, “with the exception of two men, belonged to the Pel ethnicity”.
The Pel, a minority in Burkina, some of whose members belong to the jihadist organizations whose attacks are bleeding the country, are often the targets of massacres.
The CISC added in its statement that “women were tortured” in order to “tell where terrorists are hiding”.
According to a resident of the area, part of the residents of the community that was targeted “were suspected of collaborating with armed terrorist organizations”.
The CISC “demands that an independent and impartial judicial investigation be launched into these crimes,” the organization said in its statement.
In early February, the same NGO accused the army of killing at least 25 civilians and also called for a judicial investigation. The government announced after the uproar that an investigation had indeed begun.
Burkina Faso has been faced since 2015 with attacks by organizations that pledge allegiance to either Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, which have multiplied recently and have claimed the lives of over 10,000 people — civilians and soldiers — while displacing another two million. citizens.
Source: News Beast
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