No warring party has claimed responsibility for the other attacks, but witnesses said they believed the attackers were members of Islamist armed groups because of their mode of operations, choice of targets, and clothing, including turbans like those worn during these groups’ previous attacks.
“The jihadists opened fire in the village indiscriminately,” said a 35-year-old farmer who witnessed another attack by alleged Islamist fighters in the town of Sindo on June 11. “I hid in a shop, and I could hear heavy gunshots above my head.”
Human Rights Watch has previously documented other Islamist armed group abuses in Burkina Faso, including summary executions, sexual violence, abductions, and pillaging. The groups have also attacked students, teachers, and schools, and continue to besiege several localities across the country, planting explosive devices along the roads leading to the towns, and cutting residents off from food, basic services, and aid.
The Burkinabè government has made little progress in investigating, much less prosecuting, those responsible for the many grave offenses committed as part of the armed conflict since 2016.
As the civilian death toll rises, the time for action to end these horrific abuses and secure justice for civilians is now.
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