HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused the Burkina Faso army of killing at least 60 civilians in drone strikes which the government said targeted insurgents.
The deaths occurred in three military drone strikes since August, two at crowded markets and another at a funeral, the rights group said in a report.
Military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, who came to power after a 2022 coup, has focused on a strong security response to attacks by groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
HRW said it had interviewed dozens of witnesses between September and November and analysed photographs, videos and satellite images.
“The Burkina Faso military used one of the most accurate weapons in its arsenal to attack large groups of people, causing the loss of numerous civilian lives in violation of the laws of war,” the New York-based group said in its report.
The drone strikes “violated laws-of-war prohibitions against attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets and were apparent war crimes,” it added.
On August 3, Burkina’s government-run RTB television channel reported a “successful” air operation against a group of insurgents in the northern town of Bouro.
RTB showed a video of a guided munition striking dozens of people and animals in a glade.
Local residents told HRW that 28 men were killed and many wounded in a packed market.
They added that the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM) controlled Bouro and surrounding areas.
Three survivors said four motorbikes ridden by insurgents, or fighters, entered the market at the moment of the strike, when hundreds of civilians were present.
