OugadougoucTypeface:> Burkina Faso’s military government has said videos circulating on social media that implicate its armed forces in an attack on civilians are false and misleading.
In a statement late Saturday, the government said it believed that events have been “distorted to discredit the national armed forces and frighten the population.” The statement comes after criticism by political party the SENS movement of the government’s silence on attacks that took place on March 10 in the Solenzo countryside. Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said over the weekend it had analysed the video footage and found government-led militia were involved in the “massacre” of dozens of people. According to HRW, sources said that on March 10 and 11, security forces and allied militia groups carried out large-scale operations against the Fulani ethnic group.
The military government, which came to power through a coup in 2022, has long accused the Fulani group of supporting Islamist fighters. However, the Burkinabé authorities said in the statement that they had carried out operations against attacking terrorists and had rescued numerous civilians and taken them to a temporary site for “urgent humanitarian care.”(DPA)
