BY Joe D.
DAKAR, May 13, 2025 — A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Burkina Faso military and pro-government militia forces of carrying out a mass killing of at least 130 civilians, primarily ethnic Fulani, near the town of Solenzo earlier this year. The attack, described as a “massacre,” occurred during a government-led military operation in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region between February 27 and April 2, 2025.
HRW says it conducted interviews with survivors, witnesses, civil society members, and journalists, and analyzed video footage shared on social media to compile the findings. The report places direct blame on the country’s special forces and allied fighters from the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), a militia group accused of previous abuses.
Civilians Targeted Amid Anti-Terror Operation
The victims were overwhelmingly members of the Fulani community — a Muslim pastoralist group that has long faced accusations by the Burkinabè government of collaborating with Islamist insurgents. Community leaders have denied these claims.
Eyewitnesses described government forces sweeping through villages with military drones overhead and militia fighters opening fire indiscriminately. One 44-year-old Fulani herder told investigators: “The VDPs shot at us like animals… many women and children died because they could not run.”
In the aftermath, entire Fulani communities reportedly fled across the border into Mali. “There are no more Fulani left in the province — they all fled, were killed, or taken hostage,” said another local witness.
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Reprisal Killings by Jihadist Militants
After the military withdrawal, fighters from an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), reportedly moved back into the area and began executing civilians suspected of cooperating with government forces.
A 60-year-old woman from Tiao village described the aftermath: “All the men had been executed in front of the health center… I counted up to 70 bodies.”
HRW says at least 100 more civilians were killed by jihadist groups in the weeks following the initial attack — a grim cycle of retaliation triggered by the mass killing.
Burkina Faso forces killed at least 100 civilians in a March attack, Human Rights Watch says https://t.co/SYiCr8nyDJ pic.twitter.com/hWUFheyWbp
— The Independent (@Independent) May 12, 2025
Government Denial and Growing Repression
The Burkina Faso government has not issued an official response to the latest HRW report. In previous cases, it has labeled such accusations as “baseless” and condemned the sharing of graphic images online, accusing activists of spreading “fake information” that stokes ethnic violence.
Since the military junta seized power in 2022, it has promised to stabilize the country and crush the Islamist insurgency that has displaced over 2 million people. But rights groups say the government’s strategy — including mass recruitment of untrained civilian militias — has only deepened interethnic divisions and triggered widespread human rights violations.
Burkina Faso now faces near-total censorship, according to HRW and other watchdogs. Journalists and witnesses who speak out risk forced conscription, abduction, or imprisonment.
A Region in Crisis
Burkina Faso is at the epicenter of the Sahel’s security crisis, with over 60% of its territory outside state control and insurgent groups exploiting the power vacuum. Recent reports suggest renewed violence in other regions of the country, though independent verification remains difficult due to restrictions on press access.
The allegations come just days after junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré returned from Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss further cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts. Since the coup, Burkina Faso has shifted its alliances away from France and toward Russia — a move that has sparked international concern.
Conclusion
HRW has called on Burkina Faso’s government to conduct an impartial investigation and prosecute those responsible for what it says are “war crimes and possible atrocity crimes.” The burden now falls on the military regime to prove it can govern not just with force, but with accountability — before the country descends further into conflict.
