Burkina Faso killed 31 unarmed men, report says

OUAHIGOUYA, Burkina Faso — Burkina Faso’s security forces reportedly killed 31 unarmed men in the country’s north, according to a report on Monday by Human Rights Watch.

The killings occurred on April 9 after the men were detained during a government counterterrorism operation in the town of Djibo, the report said.

The West African nation continues to be wracked by violence linked to Islamic extremists and local defense militias, which has displaced nearly 840,000 people within Burkina Faso.

The report’s writers interviewed 17 people with knowledge of the killings and found all of the victims were ethnic Fulani.

The Fulani have been increasingly targeted by the military and local defense militias for their alleged affiliation with Islamist groups.