The Human Rights Watch has blamed Armed groups with links to Al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) for escalating attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso.
In a report which documented the killing of at least 128 civilians in seven attacks by “armed groups” across the country since February 2024, HRW said casualties have mainly been those who do not accept the ideology of the terror groups.
Led by the military government of Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso has been grappling with an armed rebellion by the ISIL affiliate in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) since they moved into Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali in 2016.
Traore has pushed for civilians to play a role in fighting the groups even recruiting thousands of volunteer army auxiliaries and forced civilians to dig defensive trenches.
