Burkina Faso Government Announces New Approach to Counter Terrorism with Goal of Reducing Civilian Casualties.

Dozens Killed by Uniformed Gunmen in Burkina Faso, Prompts Government Investigation

The prosecutor of the court of Ouahigouya, Lamine Kaboré, revealed in a statement to AFP that he had been informed by local gendarmerie of a massacre in the village of Karma, located in the province of Yatenga, where around sixty people were allegedly killed by individuals wearing uniforms of the national armed forces.

The wounded have been evacuated for medical treatment, and the perpetrators reportedly took various goods from the village.

The prosecutor has taken the matter seriously and issued instructions to elucidate the incident and arrest those involved. He also urged anyone with information about the events to come forward.

Survivors of the attack claimed that over a hundred armed individuals on motorbikes and pickup trucks raided Karma, with dozens of men and youths being executed by individuals dressed in military uniforms. The survivors estimate the death toll to be close to 80.

This massacre follows an attack by suspected jihadists near the village of Aorema a week prior, where six soldiers and 34 Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) were killed. Karma is located about 40 km from Aorema, near the Malian border, and is known to attract illegal gold miners.

This incident comes in the wake of an announcement by Burkina Faso’s military justice system to conduct an investigation into the death of civilians during “serious altercations” with soldiers in Dori, also in the north of the country. Citizens of Dori had alleged that soldiers had carried out a “punitive expedition” in response to the assassination of a soldier, which was confirmed by the Burkinabe movement for human and people’s rights (MBDHP).

Burkina Faso has been grappling with jihadist violence since 2015, which has resulted in over 10,000 civilian and military deaths in the past seven years, according to NGOs, and has displaced around two million people. In response, Burkina Faso’s transitional president, Captain Ibrahim Traore, who assumed power in a coup in September 2022, has signed a one-year “general mobilisation” decree, allowing for the requisition of young people aged 18 and over to join the fight against the jihadists.