A sweeping new report by Human Rights Watch has found that Burkina Faso’s own security forces and allied militias are responsible for more civilian deaths than the jihadi insurgent groups that the military government cites as its primary justification for staying in power.
The 316-page study, based on 450 interviews alongside verified social media footage and satellite imagery, documents atrocities across the country between January 2023 and August 2025. It catalogues at least 1,837 civilian deaths in 57 distinct incidents of violence — of which 33 were committed by government forces and their allies, accounting for roughly 1,255 deaths. The remainder were attributed to militant groups including al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
“These atrocities, including the government’s ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity for which senior leaders on all sides may be liable,” the report stated.
**Fulani Community Systematically Targeted**
The Fulani — a traditionally semi-nomadic pastoralist ethnic group comprising roughly 8.5% of Burkina Faso’s population of 21 million — appear to be a primary target of the government’s security campaign. The HRW report found evidence suggesting that attacks on Fulani villages are carried out as reprisals for alleged collaboration with JNIM militants.
“The highest levels of government appear supportive of military action against Fulani people based on these attitudes,” the report read. Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW, said the security forces and allied militias “appear to be more brutal and violent” than the militant groups they are fighting.
The findings echo concerns raised in a separate HRW report released just one day earlier, which accused all sides in the conflict of committing crimes against humanity. That report documented over 1,800 civilian deaths since 2023, with particular focus on military and militia operations in areas accused of harbouring insurgent groups.
**Failed Security, Widening Territory Loss**
Since the military junta took power in a 2022 coup, the country has seen relentless deterioration in security. More than 60% of Burkina Faso’s territory is now outside government control. Over 2.1 million people have been internally displaced and 6.5 million require humanitarian assistance to survive.
The junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has expelled French troops, welcomed closer ties with Russia, banned all political parties, and recently declared that democracy is “not for” Burkina Faso. The government has denied HRW’s findings and blocked multiple international media organisations from reporting inside the country.
HRW warned that the pattern of abuses by government forces risks inadvertently bolstering the very insurgent groups it claims to be fighting, by alienating communities caught between multiple armed factions.
*Source: Deutsche Welle / AllAfrica / Human Rights Watch*