In Burkina Faso, it is crucial that an investigation be carried out quickly on allegations of military abuse in the north of the country, Seif Magango, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told RFI on Monday, November 14. On Saturday, November 12, the Burkinabè government published a press release announcing the opening of an investigation on this subject.
The Burkinabè defense and security forces (FDS) as well as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) are suspected of having killed many civilians in several villages near Djiboin the Sahel region, in the north of the country.
It was a note from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that alerted the Burkinabè government: it mentions ” shelling on the villages of Holdé, Yaté, Ména and Dabere-Pogowel carried out by the 14th Inter-Army Regiment of Djibo on 9 November.
Without taking stock, the OHCHR believes that women and children are among the victims: “ We have received serious accusations in this regard “says Seif Magango.
Joined by RFI, this Monday, November 14, sources mention the death of about fifty civilians, the wounded were also transferred to Ouahigouya. Either allegations which does not surprise us “Explains the government spokesperson in his press release, for whom the terrorists are” accustomed to manipulation and misinformation “, especially since “ offensive actions are underway in the Sahel region “.
This is not the first time that the Burkinabè FDS and the VDP are suspected of abuse. In April, the Ministry of Defense announced the opening of an investigation after similar accusations in Solhan, in the north of the country.
►Also read: Burkina: more than a hundred civilians are said to have been killed during abuses by the armed forces