The victims of the Karma massacre, which occurred on April 20, broke their silence on Tuesday, April 25. They recalled that it was men in military uniforms who surrounded their village very early in the morning, before carrying out mass murders. If the prosecutor of Faso estimated the number of victims at around sixty, the nationals, themselves, rather think that they are more than a hundred, including the elderly, women, children and even babies.
It was following a meeting, which was held on the morning of April 25, that survivors and relatives of the victims of the karma killing have decided to issue a press release. They wanted to come back to the attack on their village, located in the province of Yatenga, in the north of Burkina Faso. ” It is important that people know the truth “says a villager.
It starts with an exact assessment of the number of victims. However, it was only this morning that the survivors obtained authorization to bury their dead. On Monday, access to the village of Karma remained impossible. ” The army had blocked the road at the Ouahigouya-Youba axis “, explains the press release. ” Laptops were removed and some photos deleted before restitution, he adds.
” Don’t let this happen again »
This Tuesday, the survivors are asking to be heard in order to preserve social cohesion. ” We have contacted the administrative and judicial authorities in the hope of obtaining support “, writes the press release, which deplores that there has been” no reaction “. ” Despite this massacre, we remain attached to the values of the transition and the army. We would have liked the authorities to hear it and that we work together so that it does not happen again. “says a survivor.
According to a source close to the prefecture of Ouahigouya, for the time being, no support system is planned for the victims, in addition to their care at the city hospital.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, asked ” a full and independent investigation into the latest horrific killing of civilians in Burkina Faso “. She recalls that Karma’s killing is ” one of many other reported attacks on civilians by the armed forces and the VDP (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland) in recent months “.
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