Burkina Faso and Massacre of Fulani Adults and Children
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Sunni Islamist terrorist forces in the Sahel region and Lake Chad have killed vast numbers of people in recent years. However, the latest massacre in Burkina Faso is by government-allied militias against ordinary Fulani Muslim civilians.
Nations in this region, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger, are persistently hit by Sunni Islamic terrorist and insurgent groups. Accordingly, various regional and government-allied militias have been formed to protect local civilians.
Yet, in Burkina Faso, the Fulani (one angle to the terrorist threat) are being blamed by some government-allied militias for sharing sympathy with the Islamic jihadists. In reality, ordinary Fulani civilians in Burkina Faso have no power to resist Sunni Islamic terrorist forces or government-allied militias – they are trapped in the crisis that blights the region.
Video footage circulating shows many civilians with their hands tied up in the environs of Solenzo. This massacre took place on March 10 and March 11. Some are taunted, including women and children.
The video footage continues and shows a pro-government militia killing men, women, and children.
Human Rights Watch says, “Human Rights Watch reviewed 11 videos that circulated on social networks starting on March 11, which showed dozens of dead men, women, and children, as well as dozens of others alive, some with visible injuries, with their hands and feet bound. In the videos, armed men are standing by or walking among the bodies, instructing, and in some cases insulting, those being detained. The armed men are wearing identifiable uniforms of local militias known as Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, or VDPs). Some wear green T-shirts reading “Groupe d’autodéfense de Mahouna” (Mahouna Self-Defense Group) and “Force Rapide de Kouka” (Kouka Rapid Force), two local militia groups in Mahouna and Kouka localities in Banwa province, whose capital is Solenzo.”
One shocking scene shows a dead Fulani lady – her child in fear and already suffering – then a person says, “It’s the work of your parents that brought you here. You think you can get all of Burkina Faso? This is your end.”
Human Rights Watch reports, “Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso have been responsible for numerous grave abuses, including killing and the forced displacement of civilians. The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) has repeatedly attacked civilians as well as government security forces and VDP militias in Banwa province.”
At least 58 people were killed – and likely higher. However, massacres in distant Burkina Faso to Myanmar don’t receive international attention to the same extent as a few selected conflicts.
Sunni Islamists seek to sow chaos – and with every massacre like this, some people will turn against the ruling military elites in Burkina Faso.
The Independent reports, “The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.”
Sadly, civilians are being killed by both sides – innocents caught up in a spiral of violence.
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