“Around 170 people” were “executed” a week ago in “massive murderous attacks” on three villages in northern Burkina Faso, the Ouahigouya (North) public prosecutor’s office said in a press release published on Sunday.
Prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly writes that he was informed of “massive murderous attacks” on February 25th [qui] were allegedly committed in the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga Province in the north.
“The same sources stated that the total number of preliminary executions amounts to around 170 people, in addition to the injured and various other related property damage,” the prosecutor added.
He points out that “given the seriousness and circumstances of all these denunciations and information, my public prosecutor's office has instructed its criminal investigation department to open an investigation to clarify the facts.”
He called on “all persons who have elements or information relating to these facts to communicate them to the public prosecutor and/or the police”.
In addition, on February 29, a team of investigators traveled to the various affected villages to “carry out all investigations and collect all evidence,” he emphasized.
According to residents contacted by AFP, survivors said dozens of women and small children were among the victims.
These attacks on three villages in the north are different from those that took place on the same day against a mosque in Natiaboani (east) and a church in Essakane village (north), leaving “dozens of deaths,” according to security forces and local sources. to AFP.
No official report was provided on these attacks.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has faced jihadist violence attributed to armed movements linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which has left nearly 20,000 dead and more than two million internally displaced.