In Burkina Faso, Human Rights Watch accuses military of killing dozens of civilians during drone strikes

In a report published on Thursday, January 25, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Burkina Faso’s army of killing at least 60 civilians in drone attacks. “Three drone strikes by the Burkinabe army, presented by the government as striking jihadist fighters, have killed at least 60 civilians since August 2023 in two markets and during a funeral ceremony”.She said that.

HRW claims to have interviewed dozens of witnesses between September and November 2023 and analyzed photographs, videos and satellite images for the investigation. “The Burkinabe army used one of the most accurate weapons in its arsenal to attack large groups of people, causing many civilian deaths”.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, researcher for the Sahel at HRW, assures this report.

According to HRW, the attacks were carried out by Bayraktar TB2 drones manufactured in Turkey and capable of carrying four laser-guided bombs.

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“They were merchants, citizens, not warriors”

Human rights NGOs have claimed that seven people aged between 20 and 40 were killed and five injured in a bazaar in the village of Baulikesi (North) on November 18, which was broadcast on national television. “Logistics Support” The jihadists

“They were merchants, citizens, not warriors”, says a 69-year-old man who lost two sons, aged 20 and 40, in the strike. In Biddi (North), on 21 September, a drone strike reportedly struck a tent where around a hundred people had gathered for a funeral, killing twenty-four. “I saw many bodies scattered on the ground, some torn to pieces… like body parts, limbs, it was horrible”says a witness interviewed by HRW.

The report also claims that residents are sometimes forced to cooperate with the jihadists who control these areas. A resident of Bauro (North) village, where 28 men were killed on August 3, assures that the local “Considered a Jihadi zone by the government. We are afraid to even go to the hospital and say that we have been injured by a drone”.

Captain Ibrahim Traure’s regime, since coming to power through a coup in 2022, has adopted a very aggressive strategy against jihadist groups, accused by various NGOs and human rights defenders of harming countless civilians. Images of drone strikes against suspected jihadist fighters are regularly broadcast on national television.

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The world with AFP