Civilians caught among insurgency in Burkina Faso
Massacre in village underscores violence as ruling junta fights Islamic militants.
DAKAR, Senegal — Women slain with babies wrapped against their bodies, lifeless children intertwined, a 2-month-old faceup on the ground, with puppies crawling on his tiny frame. The scenes were horrifying, but the 32-year-old farmer felt he had to document them, as proof of the carnage in his central Burkina Faso village.
More than a dozen relatives were killed Nov. 5 when security forces attacked with mounted pickup trucks, guns and drones, he told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. He said he hid in a neighbor’s compound and took a series of photos before fleeing the next morning.
Dozens more were killed that day in Zaongo, according to his account and that of two other survivors, as well as a United Nations report citing government figures. The images the man sent to the AP and the interviews with the three survivors are rare firsthand accounts amid a stark increase in civilian killings by Burkina Faso’s security forces as the junta struggles to beat back a growing insurgency and attacks citizens under the guise of counter-terrorism.
Most attacks — including the slaying of children by soldiers at a military base last year, uncovered in an AP investigation — go unpunished and unreported in a nation run by a repressive leadership that silences perceived dissidents.
More than 20,000 people have been killed since the violence linked to Al Qaeda and the extremist group Islamic State first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The fighting has divided a once peaceful population, blockaded dozens of cities and led to two military coups.
Burkina Faso’s government spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment about the Nov. 5 attack. Previously, officials have denied killing civilians and said extremist militants often disguise themselves as soldiers.
The three survivors told the AP that they’re certain the men were security forces, not Islamic militants. They described them as wearing military uniforms, one with a Burkina Faso flag attached. The farmer saw a helicopter flying toward the village in the attack’s aftermath — those are used solely by the military, not by insurgents.
The U.N. urged the government to investigate, hold those responsible accountable and compensate victims, said Seif Magango of the organization’s Human Rights Office.
Burkina Faso’s prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation. Four months later, survivors said, they’ve had no news.
‘They massacred’ the villagers
It was early morning when the farmer heard gunshots in the distance. Violence in Namentenga province is frequent, locals said — shootings and patrolling soldiers are common.
But this Sunday was different. About 3 p.m., the farmer said, hundreds of men — most in military fatigues — stormed in on motorbikes and trucks and started indiscriminately killing.
He hid at the neighbor’s home, he said, and after hours of shooting, the man with the flag entered.
“The soldier told us that his colleagues were in the other compound,” the farmer said. “He said he didn’t want to hurt us, but if the others realized we were still alive, they’d kill us.”
When the shooting stopped, the farmer left the compound and saw Zaongo littered with bodies.
“These people sought shelter in their huts, but they massacred them,” the farmer said.
It’s unclear what prompted the attack, but locals said that in most cases, security forces think villagers are working with extremists.
Junta at war with militants
Since seizing power in September 2022, the junta has threatened journalists and rights groups and carried out attacks on civilians. It’s on a war footing as it tries to beat back the militants, who have overtaken more than half the country, conflict analysts say.
The junta is distancing itself from regional and Western nations that don’t agree with its approach. This year, it left the West African regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS and created an alliance with Mali and Niger, also run by military juntas.
The junta severed military ties with France, the former colonial ruler. Officials have welcomed several dozen Russians tasked in part with keeping the junta in power, according to conflict experts and a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter.
In November, days after the Zaongo massacre, 50 Russians arrived in Burkina Faso to protect the junta, influence public opinion and provide security services, said Lou Osborn of All Eyes on Wagner, a project focusing on the Russian mercenary group, which operates in a handful of African countries.
The U.S. said it has cut and suspended assistance to Burkina Faso’s military but still supplies nonlethal equipment to civilian security forces such as the national police. In January, it delivered nearly 100 bikes and pickups.
In a statement, the State Department said it has provided $16 million in “counterterrorism capacity building assistance” since 2022.
“We are not aware of any diversion or misuse of recent equipment,” it said. “We take allegations seriously and will continue to monitor and evaluate.”
Civilian recruits provoke attacks
During the Nov. 5 attack, men in military uniforms speaking French and Moore, the local language, called for men to leave their houses, a 45-year-old woman told the AP. Through the window of the home where she hid, she saw relatives killed — more than 15.
She said a soldier motioned for her to lie down silently. The men dressed, looked and sounded like soldiers who pass through and inspect people’s documents, she said.
The third survivor who spoke to AP, a 55-year-old man, said villagers had been accused of working with militants because they refused to join tens of thousands of volunteers fighting alongside the military.
Recruiting is part of the junta’s strategy. Residents said this contributes to civilian killings as volunteers round up anyone they suspect of extremist ties, provoking the militants to attack communities with volunteers.
Civilians are caught in the middle as violence intensifies. More than 2 million have been displaced, and tens of thousands face severe hunger, the U.N. says.
Survivors fear that bodies still lie on the ground rotting in Zaongo, now occupied by the militants. Some relatives returned a week after the killings, but there were too many bodies and not enough time to bury them, they said.
It’s unclear how many were killed — reports from survivors, the U.N. and aid groups range from 70 to more than 200.
Survivors, displaced in various parts of the country, are calling on the government to hold the killers accountable.
“When a door slams or a child shouts, we’re frightened,” the surviving woman told AP. “If we go back there, we’ll just die.”