The women’s mosque in the center of Soro village, Thiou district, northern Yatenga province, Burkina Faso.  March 2024 © 2024 Private

New York, April 27 (RHC)-- Burkina Faso’s U.S.-trained military forces “summarily executed” at least 223 civilians, including dozens of children, across several villages in the northern Yatenga province in late February. 

According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, the extrajudicial mass killings are part of a widespread military campaign to exterminate residents accused of collaborating with Islamic militants. 

Executive Director of New York-based Human Rights Watch Tirana Hassan said in a statement: “The repeated failure of the Burkinabè authorities to prevent and investigate such atrocities underlines why international assistance is critical to support a credible investigation into possible crimes against humanity.”