A regional prosecutor in Burkina Faso said that about 170 people were “executed” in massacres in three villages in the north of the country a week ago.
Ali Benjamin Coulibaly, the public prosecutor in Ouahigouya (north), said in a statement published today, Sunday, that he was informed of “massive bloody attacks in the villages of Komselega, Nodan and Soro” in Yatenga Governorate on February 25, adding that an investigation had been opened into the massacres.
Coulibaly confirmed that “the same sources indicate that the non-final outcome is that about 170 people were executed,” in addition to the injury of others and the occurrence of material damage.
He continued, “Given the seriousness and circumstances of all these convictions and information, my Public Prosecution issued directives to the judicial police to open an investigation for the purpose of clarifying the facts,” calling on all persons “who possess items or information regarding these incidents” to report them to the relevant authorities.
The Public Prosecutor stated that on February 29, a team of investigators visited some of the villages affected by the attacks “to reach all conclusions and collect all evidence.”
Among the victims were dozens of women and children, according to residents in the area.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has faced terrorist violence carried out by extremist groups linked to the terrorist organizations Al-Qaeda and ISIS, leaving nearly 20,000 dead and more than two million displaced.
439 people were killed in these acts of violence during the month of January alone, according to estimates by the non-governmental organization “Acled”, which is concerned with counting victims of conflicts in the world.
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