A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed that Burkina Faso’s army, in coordination with allied militias, killed at least 130 civilians during a military operation near the western town of Solenzo in March. The majority of the victims were members of the Fulani ethnic group.

In a statement published on March 15, the Burkina Faso government said its forces had repelled a terrorist attack by Islamist militant groups on March 10. The government asserted that women, children, and the elderly had been rescued and denied causing harm to civilians. 

However, HRW’s report contradicts this, stating that no fighting with militants took place. Instead, HRW alleges that civilians were deliberately targeted by state forces and their local allies during the operation.

Witnesses told HRW how soldiers and pro-government militias, known as Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDPs), attacked Fulani villages, forcing people to flee.

A 44-year-old herder told HRW that eight members of his family were killed. “The VDPs shot at us like animals,” he said. A 50-year-old woman said she heard VDP fighters shouting, “We are going to kill all Fulani.”

“The viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo told only part of the story,” said HRW researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi. “Further research uncovered that Burkina Faso’s military was responsible.”

The Fulani are a mostly Muslim, pastoralist community. The government has often accused them of supporting jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Community leaders deny this.

After the March killings, the Al-Qaeda-linked group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin launched attacks in the northern province of Sourou. HRW said about 100 more civilians were killed in those retaliatory strikes.

HRW called the killings by both sides potential war crimes and urged the government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable. 

Burkina Faso’s government has not responded to the new report. Last year, it rejected another HRW report as false after being accused of killing over 200 civilians. 

The HRW report comes just days after junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré returned from a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since taking power, Traoré has shifted the country’s foreign ties from France to Russia, seeking help in fighting armed groups in the Sahel.