DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A damning new investigation reveals that military forces in Burkina Faso have slaughtered more than double the number of civilians compared to extremist jihadist organizations during a two-year span, as documented by Human Rights Watch in a report that labels actions by both parties as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The comprehensive study found that among 1,837 civilian deaths recorded in Burkina Faso from January 2023 through August 2025, government troops were responsible for more than 1,200 fatalities. The United Nations estimates that over 2 million residents have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted.
“Most likely a gross undercount because most instances go unreported,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, Human Rights Watch’s senior Sahel researcher, explained to The Associated Press regarding the documented casualties.
Officials from Burkina Faso’s government have not provided responses to requests seeking their perspective.
The human rights organization states that under the leadership of President Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso’s military leadership has implemented “a broad crackdown” targeting political opponents, peaceful protesters and independent journalists, “fostering an atmosphere of terror and severely restricting the flow of information about the conflict and its toll.”
This West African nation of 23 million residents has become emblematic of the security breakdown plaguing the Sahel area below the Sahara Desert in recent years. The country has endured attacks from radical organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, along with military responses from various governments. The Global Terrorism Index identifies the Sahel as the planet’s most dangerous region for extremist activity.
Both Burkina Faso’s military units and fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) — an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant organization active throughout the region — have committed acts constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to Human Rights Watch findings.
“These atrocities, including the government’s ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity for which senior leaders on all sides may be liable,” states the 316-page investigation.
The report describes one incident where government troops allegedly murdered 223 civilians, including no fewer than 56 children, after accusing them of working with JNIM in northern Yatenga province during early 2024. In another assault that same year, JNIM reportedly murdered at least 133 civilians, including numerous children, in the country’s central region.
Attacks against civilians, especially members of the Fulani ethnic community, seem to represent official Burkina Faso government strategy, the rights organization concluded, with revenge strikes against communities suspected of supporting JNIM occurring regularly due to assumptions about the group’s allegiance to militant organizations.
“The highest levels of government appear supportive of military action against Fulani people based on these attitudes,” the investigation notes, explaining that obtaining accurate information about conditions within the country remains impossible since military leaders have established effective censorship. Citizens who speak publicly face risks of kidnapping, imprisonment or forced military service.
The military government, which seized control in 2022, has not delivered the promised stability. Conservative projections indicate that more than 60% of national territory now lies beyond government authority, over 2.1 million people have been displaced from their residences, and nearly 6.5 million require emergency assistance for survival.
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a conflict monitoring organization, calculates that no fewer than 10,600 civilians have died since 2016.
