Burkina Faso army massacred 223 villagers in revenge attack - HRW - BBC News

Soldiers accused residents of aiding Islamist fighters before shooting at them, an investigation shows.

6 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AFPImage caption, A military convoy with over 100 soldiers descended on the villages, survivors said (file photo)By Gloria AradiBBC NewsMore than 220 civilians, including at least 56 children, were massacred by Burkina Faso's military in a single day this year, Human Rights Watch says.

In the attacks on 25 February, the army killed 179 people in Soro village and 44 others in the nearby Nondin village, an HRW investigation found.

HRW termed the mass killings "among the worst army abuse" incidents in the country in nearly a decade.

Burkinabè authorities have not commented on the report.

Last month, public prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly appealed for witnesses to identify the group behind the mass killings. He put the preliminary death toll at 170.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68879696

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