The European Union called this Sunday on the military regime ruling Burkina Faso to “shed light” on a “massacre” of civilians earlier in the week. A preliminary report said the victims were “mainly children and the elderly.”
At least 70 people, mostly children and the elderly, died in early November in “murders” whose perpetrators are “unknown” in the north of Burkina Faso, prosecutor Simon Gnanou announced this Monday, November 13th.
These massacres, carried out on November 5 in Zaongo, claimed 70 victims, according to a preliminary report, “mainly children and the elderly,” the prosecutor states in a press release, adding that “the perpetrators of the atrocities remain unknown at this time.” . .
This Sunday, the European Union mentioned this massacre and called on the authorities in Ouagadougou to “shed light on the matter”.
Ongoing investigation
The prosecutor specifies that hearing the “parents of the victims and those injured will make it possible to determine the exact number of deaths”.
“The massacre occurred two days after fighting between security forces and terrorists. Zaongo was one of the few villages in the area that had not yet been evacuated by the terrorists. Some suspected the residents of collaborating with them,” said a citizen of the area, on condition of anonymity.
The prosecutor explained that he was on site on November 11th with a team consisting in particular of a military investigating judge, members of the special brigade for combating terrorism and combating organized crime, and gendarmes.
He also praised the defense and security forces who “carried out mine clearance” and repelled “an attack on the convoy” along the route in this area where jihadist groups operate.