A prosecutor has opened an investigation into the massacre in the northern village of Karma and its surroundings after reporting that around 60 civilians had been killed by people dressed in Burkinabe armed forces uniforms.
The attack has drawn condemnations and calls for an investigation by the UN Human Rights Office, and is one of the worst attacks targeting civilians in the country, which faces militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Burkina Faso is one of many West African countries battling a violent Islamist insurgency that has spread from neighboring Mali over the past decade, killing thousands and displacing more than two millions of people.
The government is waging a large-scale offensive which it says is aimed at retaking large swaths of territory held by armed rebels.
The government condemned the attack on Karma village in a statement issued on April 27 without giving details of the casualties.
However, more details were later revealed.
A statement released by residents and survivors on Saturday said the village was besieged in the early morning hours of April 20 by heavily armed men in Burkina Faso military uniform on motorcycles, pickup trucks and armored vehicles.
“Villagers were initially rejoicing upon their arrival, but their joy quickly changed when they opened fire,” the statement added, according to Reuters.
Residents and survivors said they counted 136 civilians killed and 9 injured.
Neither Burkina Faso’s military nor the government responded to a Reuters request for comment on Saturday.
A representative of residents and survivors, speaking at a press conference in Ouahiguya, about 15 kilometers from the village of Karma, said the government’s statement revealed indifference and contempt for the people of Karma. .
He added that the statement sows confusion about the responsibility of the security and defense forces in the massacre.
“We, the inhabitants and survivors of the events in Karma and the surrounding area, have no doubt that the security and defense forces are responsible for this massacre. We were not mistaken, and we know our security and defense forces very well. defense,†he added. statement said.
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