“Might as well say it clearly: there is certainly no lasting military solution to the multifaceted insecurity in these two Sahelian countries, but the dislocation of States and the social fabric will continue as long as the defense and security forces of these countries will not have regained credibility through their operational efficiency and their ability to neutralize the real enemies. And not, by their ability to martyr civilian populations suspected, by their ethnicity alone, of being allies of terrorists.”
I wrote these lines in June 2019 in a column published by the magazine Jeune Afrique with this title: “Three immediate responses to the recurring disasters in Mali and Burkina Faso”. There is a feeling of weariness in having to repeat the same messages, to warn of the gradual tipping over of larger and larger regions of our countries into massive and abject violence on a scale hitherto unknown, first of all by the fact armed groups resorting to terrorism, by various militias and, unfortunately, also by defense and security forces engaged in the fight against armed groups.
A feeling of weariness to observe year after year, the level of violence reaching a new milestone in West African countries, and arousing little indignation, revulsion and demand for transparency and justice from the populations of the capitals still far from areas of great insecurity, desolation, chaos, crimes still unimaginable a few years ago in a country like Burkina Faso.
So I will content myself with repeating below the full text of the "Declaration on the massacre of Karma and neighboring villages in the North of Burkina Faso" which we owe to the Collective against the impunity and stigmatization of communities, CISC , signed by its secretary general, Dr Daouda Diallo.
Of course, the minds convinced that all the organizations and all the voices that defend human rights - in fact simply the right to life of their fellow citizens - are manipulated by enemies of the Burkinabè nation and only invent stories, will not take the time to read this statement. Facts don't interest them. But even if they can and know how to occupy the public space and make more noise than all the other voices, by the simple self-proclamation of their exclusive patriotism, it is to be hoped that they are still in the minority.
For all other Burkinabè and all those in the region, on the continent and beyond, who fear an escalation of violence and a continued dislocation of the social fabric of the country of Thomas Sankara, I recommend the careful reading of this declaration. Everyone will be able to form his own idea and make their assessment of the plausibility of the alternative hypotheses that can be imagined as to the responsibility for the tragic events of Karma.
Text of the Declaration on the massacre of Karma and nearby villages in northern Burkina, April 27, 2023
It is with sadness and indignation that the Collective against the Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities (CISC) was seized of the cases of summary executions of civilians, Thursday, April 20, 2023, in the villages of Karma, Dinguiri, Ramdolah, Kerga, Ménè…in the municipality of Barga, North region. These massacres are attributed to armed men assimilated to elements of the Burkinabè Defense and Security Forces (FDS).
The provisional toll, estimated at more than a hundred civilian victims, continues to increase over the course of research, according to testimonies collected on the ground. For the moment, our teams have documented and registered 136 dead bodies in Karma, including 50 women and 21 children, among whom we have seen babies under 30 days old killed on the backs of their mothers. Resource persons such as the imam, the muezzin and the village development adviser (CVD) who were all in Lent were killed.
In the other villages, at least 6 people were killed in Dinguiri, 2 people in Ménè and 3 others on the Ouahigouya-Barga road. A dozen injured civilians were transferred to the University Hospital Center of Ouahigouya.
According to the testimony of five (5) direct sources, it was on Thursday, April 20, 2023, around 7:30 a.m., that the villages began to receive visits from armed men, wearing Burkinabe military uniforms who came in large numbers to motorcycles, pickups and armored vehicles.
They gathered the civilians by dozens and by neighborhoods, taking care to assign armed men to each group, with the watchword: “Kill everyone”. The attackers spoke several languages, including French, Mooré, Dioula and Lobiri. People are able to recognize languages easily thanks to their travels within the country and gold panning activities. Among them, one stood out for his cruel character, because he threatened the men in charge of the executions to accelerate the killings. The latter complied, killing anyone they met on their way: women, elderly people and children. It should be noted that nineteen (19) people, placed in the custody of a sub-group, were spared, because these armed men subsequently withdrew.
Subsequent to this carnage, the inhabitants of the villages (20) of the commune of Barga and neighboring localities abandoned their land to take refuge in Ouahigouya. These massacres follow a terrorist attack on April 15, 2023, which caused the death of 6 soldiers and at least 34 army auxiliaries, in a village located halfway between Ouahigouya and Barga. Testimonies from survivors indicate that the attackers accused the inhabitants of the village of harboring members of terrorist groups.
The CISC notes with bitterness that this massacre is not isolated. He strongly and vehemently condemns this latest massacre, which follows other cases already perpetrated in recent months. These include, among others:
- March 8, 2023 in Rollo (Centre Nord): 21 people killed during an operation carried out by armed men assimilated to the FDS and VDP;
- February 2, 2023 in Sakoani, Piéga, Kankangou… (East): 30 people murdered by a military convoy escorting the Boungou mine;
- August 8, 2022 in Tougouri (Centre-North): at least 50 people murdered during a military operation;
- 30 and 31 December 2022 in Nouna (Boucle de Mouhoun): more than 28 people killed by VDP enlisted dozos;
Since January 2019, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and all successive governments have always promised judicial investigations to locate responsibilities. But it is clear that the civil and military prosecutors have never taken stock of the judicial investigations. It appears that impunity opens the way to all possible abuses, ranging from settling scores to large-scale massacres. With this behavior, the defense and security forces inspire fear and mistrust in the populations, making the bed for terrorist groups which present themselves in certain localities as their defenders and protectors.
It is high time that the highest authorities urgently review the policy of the fight against terrorism which leads to the trivialization of human life. It is above all up to the President of the Transition, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces, to stand out, to show his posture as a statesman, concerned about the right to life, who protects all his fellow citizens.
From there, the CISC:
- Offers condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
- Salutes the authorities for their involvement in the burial of the victims on this day, April 27, 2023.
- Encourages the elements of the Defense and security forces (FDS) who fight night and day to guarantee security to citizens while respecting the codes of the Republic.
Also, it requires:
A full and impartial judicial investigation into these horrific crimes against civilians, in order to bring all those responsible and those behind them to national and international justice;
Respect for international agreements on human rights, ratified by Burkina Faso
Finally, he invites:
- All Burkinabè to rise up against these crimes which harm the interest of our Nation and to support the populations of Karma and neighboring villages.
- All friends and partners of Burkina to do their utmost to ensure that these mass crimes do not happen again.
For the National Executive Office;
Dr. Daouda Diallo,
Winner of the Martin Ennals Prize (Nobel Prize for HRDs)
Knight of the Order of the Stallion
By Gilles Yabi
Gilles Yabi is the founder and executive director of WATHI. He directs and supervises the activities of the think tank whose permanent team is based in Dakar (Senegal). WATHI is an open platform for the production and dissemination of knowledge and proposals on all crucial issues for the present and the future of West Africa and other regions of the continent.
*This article has been translated from French into English by Marcus Boni Teiga
