Burkina Faso Army Drone Strikes Kill Over 60 Civilians

Between August and November 2023, the Burkina Faso army carried out three military drone strikes using Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, resulting in the deaths of at least 60 civilians and injuring dozens more. The strikes targeted markets and a funeral in the villages of Bouro, Boulkessi, and Bidi.

Why this matters: The escalating violence in Burkina Faso has significant implications for regional stability and global security, as it fuels political instability and creates a breeding ground for extremist groups. The lack of accountability and crackdown on critics raises concerns about the erosion of human rights and the rule of law in the country.

Burkina Faso has been torn apart byIslamist insurgencies, with the country topping the Global Terrorism Index last year as the nation hardest hit by terrorism in the world. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million, or 10% of the country's population.

The Burkina Faso military has been accused of repeatedly targeting civilians suspected of cooperating with or living near jihadists. Soldiers have been known to kill civilians on the spot, sometimes as revenge. In February, the military killed over 223 people in two villages, including 56 children and dozens of women.

The government has opened an investigation into the killings but has not conceded that the military was responsible. Instead, it suspended international news outlets for reporting on the Human Rights Watch findings. Security Minister Mahamoudou Sana made a vague but chilling statement, warning against anyone suspected of supporting insurgents.

The turmoil in Burkina Faso has fueled political instability, with mutinous soldiers seizing power by force twice in the past two and a half years. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who staged the latest coup in 2022, has been waging a full-blown war against Islamist militants and has enrolled and armed over 50,000 civilian militia fighters.

The civilian militias have been accused of casting a wide net on people perceived as supporting jihadist groups and executing them. Reports of mass killings by the militias have increased over the past 18 months, but the authorities have mostly ignored calls to properly investigate them.

The European Union, the United Nations, and other countries have expressed grave concern over the reports of massacres of civilians. The United States and Britain have called for proper investigations, but the Burkina Faso government has muzzled local journalists, expelled foreign reporters, and forcibly conscripted critics, including human rights activists.

The mass killings of civilians by the Burkina Faso military and civilian militias using drone strikes and on-the-ground executions represent a disturbing escalation in the country's conflict with Islamist insurgents. Despite international condemnation and calls for investigations, the government's crackdown on critics and lack of accountability raises serious concerns about the deterioratinghuman rights situationin Burkina Faso as the violence continues unabated.