Late on Sunday night, authorities reported that dozens of civilians have been killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso.
The attack happened on Thursday in the village of Karma in Yatenga province, near the border with Mali. The region has been in the midst of an insurgency led by Islamist groups with links to al-Qaida and the so-called “Islamic State” group.
According to Lamine Kabore, a prosecutor in the provincial capital Ouahigouya, “About 60proople were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces.”
Residents reported that over 100 people on motorbikes and pickup trucks raided the village.
Burkina Faso’s military junta recently declared a “general mobilization” to combat insurgency, which has left over 10,000 people dead over the last decade, according to rights groups.
Since 2022, attacks by armed groups on civilians have surged while state security forces and volunteer defense troops have also been accused of human rights violations, according to Human Rights Watch.
