Armed Forces, Militia Kill Over 130 Civilians; Reprisal Killings by Islamist Armed Group
(Nairobi, May 12, 2025) – The Burkina Faso army led and participated in the massacre of more than 130, possibly many more, ethnic Fulani civilians by pro-government militias in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region in March 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. Mass killings of civilians by government security forces, militias, and Islamist armed groups amount to war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes.
The massacre around the town of Solenzo, which Human Rights Watch previously reported on, occurred during operation “Green Whirlwind 2” (Operation Tourbillon Vert 2), a major weeks-long campaign led by Burkinabè special forces that resulted in widespread civilian deaths and massive displacement of Fulani people. The Al Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, or JNIM) then carried out a series of retaliatory attacks in Sourou province apparently targeting villages the armed group viewed as assisting the military, killing at least 100 civilians.
“The viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo sent shock waves through Africa’s Sahel region, but they told only part of the story,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Further research uncovered that Burkina Faso’s military was responsible for these mass killings of Fulani civilians, which were followed by deadly reprisals by an Islamist armed group. The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible.”
Between March 14 and April 22, 2025, Human Rights Watch interviewed by phone or in person 27 witnesses to the attacks, 2 militia members, and 4 journalists and civil society members. Witnesses came from Solenzo, Larihasso, Pinpissi, and Sanakuy in or at the border with Banwa province, and Gonon, Lanfièra, Mara, and Tiao in Sourou province. Human Rights Watch also reviewed at least 11 videos showing abuses by Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie or VDPs) against Fulani civilians near Solenzo. Additionally, researchers analyzed information detailing such abuses posted on social media and by media outlets.
The Green Whirlwind 2 campaign began on February 27 in Banwa province and continued north toward Sourou province until April 2. Burkinabè and international media reported that Rapid Intervention Battalions 7, 10, 18, and 23, under the command of Rapid Intervention Group 2, took part in the operation, along with hundreds of local VDP militiamen.
Villagers from Banwa province described military operations across several locations over at least six days. The VDPs would shoot in the air or at civilians and loot their cattle, forcing villagers to flee. In the area between the villages of Béna and Lékoro, the army and VDPs blocked their flight in an apparent pincer move, then massacred at least 100 civilians and possibly several hundred trapped in the bush. Witnesses said that most of the victims in Banwa province were women, children, and older people. Military helicopters and drones surveilled the area, indicating direct command control of the operation.
“Thousands of Fulani families from over 20 villages set out for [neighboring] Mali in search of protection,” said a Fulani herder, 44, from Solenzo, whose 8 family members were killed in the attacks beginning on March 8. “However, we couldn’t reach Mali without crossing villages [that were] occupied by the VDPs and the army. The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run.”
Villagers said that in the days and weeks prior to the attacks, village chiefs, friends, and even militia members had alerted them that preparations for a military operation were underway and expressed concerns that Fulani civilians would be targeted. “My friend [an ethnic Bobo] who is close to the VDPs told me that the VDPs and the military were getting organized and strengthening their units,” said a man from Sanakuy. “He drove me to the Malian border just one day before the killings.”
Human Rights Watch’s earlier research on the killing of at least 58 Fulani civilians near Solenzo was based on videos filmed by the militiamen. As VDPs walked among dozens of dead bodies, several called for the extermination of the Fulani people.
In a March 15 statement, a government spokesperson said that on March 10, militia and security forces repelled a “terrorist” attack and killed about 100 assailants before chasing stragglers through the bush. He said the security forces and VDPs “took over the forest to dismantle the terrorist base.” They found women, children, and older people “whom the terrorists tried to use as human shields, as well as a large herd of stolen cattle and goats,” and took them to safety. Government media reports stated that the authorities provided shelter and support for 318 displaced people from Solenzo at a reception center in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Witnesses said, however, that there was no fighting near Solenzo between government forces and the Islamist fighters. They also said that the military operation appeared to have been well planned.
Islamist armed groups have concentrated their recruitment efforts on the Fulani community, and the government and its supporters have long conflated the Fulani community with Islamist armed groups.
Fulani witnesses said that they believed the campaign had displaced most Fulani people from Banwa province. “Today, in the whole province, there are no more Fulani – they all fled or were killed or taken hostage,” said a 53-year-old man from Solenzo. “But the other [ethnic] communities remain.”
Following the operations near Solenzo, the military continued toward the northern province of Sourou, which had been under JNIM control for more than seven years. The international media and witnesses reported that the army entered several villages between March 21 and April 2. However, villagers said that the military only stayed in the villages for about two days, leaving people without protection from attack. JNIM fighters then returned and carried out reprisal killings against residents, targeting the men whom it considered to be military collaborators.
“All the men had been executed in front of the health center,” said a 60-year-old woman who witnessed JNIM abuses in Tiao village on April 5. “I counted up to 70 bodies.”
All parties to the armed conflict in Burkina Faso are bound by international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks on civilians, summary executions, looting, and other abuses. Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent are responsible for war crimes. Murder and other offenses committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population constitute crimes against humanity. Commanders who knew or should have known about serious abuses by their forces and did not take appropriate action may be prosecuted as a matter of command responsibility. Burkina Faso is also a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other core international human rights treaties.
“The scope of the atrocities committed by government forces, militias, and Islamist armed groups in western Burkina Faso remain grossly overlooked,” Allegrozzi said. “The United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council should urgently put Burkina Faso high on their agendas and act to protect civilians still at grave risk.”
For additional details of the attacks, please see below.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Burkina Faso, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/africa/burkina-faso