A comprehensive Human Rights Watch report released this week has documented an alarming human cost of Burkina Faso’s ongoing conflict: more than 1,800 civilians have been killed by a combination of government security forces and jihadist militant groups since the beginning of 2023.
The 68-page report, based on field interviews, satellite imagery, and a review of official data, documents killings carried out by both state forces and armed opposition groups.
What the Report Found
Human Rights Watch researchers documented 27 incidents in which Burkinabe security forces or pro-government paramilitaries killed at least 440 civilians in operations described as anti-terrorism sweeps. In the same period, jihadist attacks killed far more — the remaining 1,360-plus victims.
The army’s operations, HRW says, have included arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial executions — with the victims often young men from rural communities.
Meanwhile, the jihadist groups — linked to both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State — have carried out deliberate attacks on civilian targets including churches, schools, and market gatherings.
Civilians Bear the Brunt
For communities in the Sahel region, the findings confirm what many had already experienced firsthand. Entire villages have been emptied as residents flee both the insurgency and military operations they see as indifferent or hostile to their safety.
“This is a war that is destroying everything — our children, our livelihoods, our sense of safety,” one displaced farmer from Soum province told Human Rights Watch researchers.
Government Response
The Burkinabe government, led by military ruler Captain Ibrahim Traore who seized power in a 2022 coup, has justified its security operations as a necessary response to an existential terrorist threat.
The HRW report challenges those assertions directly, citing evidence that members of the security forces have carried out deliberate attacks on civilians with near-complete impunity.
Regional Context
Burkina Faso is one of three Sahel nations — alongside Mali and Niger — that have experienced a wave of military coups since 2020.
As Burkina Faso’s conflict enters its ninth year with no decisive military solution in sight, the human cost documented in the HRW report underscores the urgent need for approaches that prioritize civilian protection over territorial gains.
Source: France24 / Human Rights Watch / African News