DAKAR, Senegal (news agencies) — Women slain with babies wrapped against their bodies, lifeless children intertwined together, a 2-month-old face-up on the ground with puppies crawling on his tiny frame. The scenes were horrifying, but the 32-year-old farmer felt he had to document them, as proof of the carnage in his central Burkina Faso village.
More than a dozen relatives were killed Nov. 5 when security forces attacked with mounted pickup trucks, guns and drones, he told media on condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation. He said he hid for hours in a neighbor’s compound and took a series of photos before fleeing the next morning.
Dozens more were killed that day in Zaongo village, according to his account and that of two other survivors, as well as a U.N. report citing government figures. The images the man sent news agencies and the interviews with the three survivors are rare firsthand accounts amid a stark increase in civilian killings by Burkina Faso’s security forces as the junta struggles to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency and attacks citizens under the guise of counterterrorism.
Most attacks — including the slaying of children by soldiers at a military base last year, uncovered in an news agencies investigation — go unpunished and unreported in a nation run by a repressive leadership that silences perceived dissidents.
More than 20,000 people have been killed since jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The fighting has divided a once peaceful population, blockaded dozens of cities and led to two military coups.
Civilian deaths at the hands of security forces increased by 70% from 2022 to 2023 — to 735 people killed from 430, ACLED figures show.
Burkina Faso’s government spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment about the Nov. 5 attack. Previously, officials have denied killing civilians and said jihadis often disguise themselves as soldiers.
The three survivors told news agencies they’re certain the men were security forces, not jihadis. They describe them wearing military uniforms, one with a Burkina Faso flag fastened to him as he tried to warn a group of civilians that anyone found alive would be killed. The farmer saw a helicopter flying toward the village in the attack’s aftermath — those are used solely by the military, not insurgents.
The United Nations urged the government to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the attack, hold those responsible accountable, and compensate victims and families, said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office.
Burkina Faso’s prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation, but four months later, survivors said they’ve had no news.
It was early morning when the farmer heard gunshots in the distance. He was cultivating land a few miles from home with his father, he said, and they returned to the village to wait it out.
Violence in Namentenga province is frequent, locals said — it’s common to hear shootings and see soldiers on patrol.
But this Sunday was different.
About 3 p.m., the farmer said, hundreds of men — most in military fatigues — stormed through on motorbikes and trucks and started indiscriminately killing people.
He hid at the neighbor’s home, he said, and after hours of gunshots, the man with the Burkina Faso flag entered, warning people to stay out of sight.
“The soldier told us that his colleagues were in the other compound,” the farmer said. “He said he didn’t want to hurt us, but if the others realized we were still alive, they’d kill us.”
When the guns stopped that evening, he said, he left the compound and saw Zaongo littered with dead and injured men, women and children. Among them were his father, two brothers, a sister and her four children.
His uncle’s body lay under a pile of several children. His 63-year-old father was by the door of their house.
“These people sought shelter in their huts, but they massacred them,” the farmer said.
It’s unclear what prompted the attack, but locals said most times, security forces think villagers are working with the extremists.
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