Jihadists step up attacks on Burkina Faso civilians

Islamist insurgents in Burkina Faso have stepped up attacks on civilians, carrying out door-to-door killings, slitting throats and targeting Christian worshippers, a report by campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

It quoted data showing that more than 6,000 deaths, including around 1,000 civilians killed by Islamists insurgents, have been recorded in the West African state in the first eight months of the year.

Burkina Faso has been battling jihadist groups, including those linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS), since 2016.

When Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a coup two years ago, he pledged to improve the dire security situation within “two to three months”. However, the violence has only escalated.

Released on Wednesday, HRW’s report documents gruesome atrocities committed by jihadists.

Attacks are often carried out in retaliation against communities who have refused to join the ranks of the jihadists or have been accused of collaborating with government troops, HRW said.

A February attack on church worshippers in the north-eastern village of Essakane left 12 dead.

“I saw a huge pool of blood and traces of blood all over the church, as well as bullet marks on the benches,” one survivor, who lost his brother at the hands of the assailants, was quoted as saying.

The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), one of the key militant groups in Burkina Faso, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al-Qaeda linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) fighters were also highlighted several times in the report.

“The jihadists opened fire in the village indiscriminately,” said a 35-year-old farmer who witnessed an attack by alleged JNIM fighters in the town of Sindo, Hauts-Bassins region, on June 11.

“We found bodies in the village, on the outskirts and in the bush.… Some were shot, others had their throats slit,” another resident said.

Witnesses also said that in June, militants stormed the town of Mansila after killing dozens of soldiers at an army base nearby. The locals told HRW that jihadists went door-to-door, ordering people out of their homes and killing men they accused of collaborating with the army.

HRW said that Burkina Faso’s army and civilian groups affiliated to it have also committed atrocities during operations against the insurgents.

A previous report from the watchdog accused the Burkinabè military of massacring at least 223 civilians in February.

Large swathes of the West African country are run by the…