Burkina Faso’s military and its allies are committing atrocities, including the ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, titled "None Can Run Away," is based on in-person and phone interviews with more than 450 people in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Mali about abuses between January 2023 and August 2025.

Using extensive open-source analysis, including satellite imagery, audiovisual footage, and official documents, HRW researchers verified 57 incidents involving Burkinabe military forces, allied militias known as the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDPs), and the al-Qaeda-linked armed group, Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimin (JNIM). The rights NGO found that all groups were responsible for the war crimes of wilful killing, attacks on civilians and civilian objects, pillage and looting, and forced displacement.

The report stated that of the 1,837 civilians killed in the country between January 2023 and August 2025, more than 1,200 were the result of government forces. At least two million people are estimated to have been displaced since the conflict began, according to the United Nations. HRW added that President Ibrahim Traore, the supreme commander of the armed forces, and six senior Burkinabe military commanders may be liable for grave abuses and should be investigated.

In one of the deadliest incidents, the Burkinabe military and allied militias killed more than 400 civilians in December 2023 in about 16 villages near the northern town of Djibo. HRW said the military government, which seized power in September 2022, and its allies targeted the Fulani ethnic group because of their alleged support for armed groups, resulting in the ethnic cleansing of entire communities.

Philippe Bolopion, executive director of HRW, commented: "The scale of atrocities taking place in Burkina Faso is mind-boggling, as is the lack of global attention to this crisis. The junta is committing horrific abuses itself, failing to hold those responsible on all sides to account, and curtailing reporting to obscure the suffering of civilians caught in the violence."

HRW interviewed the relatives of several victims, highlighting the use of widespread threats and violence to dominate and punish communities as part of efforts to expand territorial control in rural areas. For instance, in November 2023, government-allied militias killed 13 Fulani civilians, including six women and four children, in the western village of Basse.

On August 24, 2024, JNIM killed at least 133 civilians, including dozens of children, in the central town of Barsalogho. A witness described: "[JNIM fighters] shot continuously, as if they had plenty of ammunition. People were falling like flies. They came to exterminate us. They did not spare anyone."

HRW called on the Burkina Faso government to conduct prompt and independent investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and protect civilians, but expressed skepticism about such measures being implemented under the current circumstances, given the regime's track record of obfuscation and impunity.

Source: www.aljazeera.com