Burkinabe junta denies that army killed 1,255 people since 2023

As Burkina Faso’s junta comes under increased scrutiny for its anti-democratic actions, the junta has rejected a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the army of killing 1,255 civilians since 2023, according to RFI and agencies on April 6th.

HRW data indicated that the Burkinabe military and pro-government militias have killed more than double the number of civilians as Islamist militants since 2023.

Burkinabe forces and pro-government militias, like the VDP, were implicated in roughly 65% of the total 1,800 civilian deaths since 2023.

VDP fighters have been targeted, alongside the Burkinabe army, in suspected jihadist attacks in eastern Burkina Faso, where organisations like the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) are particularly active.

HRW has previously implicated the military and VDP fighters in mass killings of civilians, particularly from the Fulani community, which is persecuted throughout the Sahel over alleged Islamist ties.

Junta spokesperson Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouedraogo rejected the HRW report, describing it as “false”, and dismissed HRW as “an NGO disconnected from reality.”

Ouagadougou also described the NGO as “forces of darkness, neo-colonial, imperialist, sponsors of terrorism in the Sahel .”

Burkina Faso’s junta-led allies, Mali and Niger, have also rejected perceived Western-aligned groups as proxies seeking to destabilise the former French colonies.

Led by Ibrahim Traoré, the junta seized power following a September 2022 military coup, which ousted Paul-Henri Damiba, who had also seized power in a 2022 coup.

Despite vowing to restore stability and fight Islamist terrorism, the junta has struggled to maintain control amid the security crisis in Burkina Faso and the Sahel region more broadly.

In a recent address, Traoré argued that democracy was harmful to African nations because it failed to protect civilians from violence; he called on citizens to reject democracy and has sought to extend military rule.

On March 27th, the junta adopted a Charter that redefined the rules of governance, with its primary aim being to ensure that Burkina Faso breaks from the “imperialist and neocolonial political models.”

Furthermore, the Charter seemingly allowed Traoré to remain in power indefinitely, stating that “President of Faso [Ibrahim Traoré] is eligible for the presidential, legislative and municipal elections that will be organised to end the revolution”, without specifying the duration of the revolution.

Political parties were dissolved in February over what officials called “numerous abuses” under the multi-party system.

Additionally, the electoral commission was dissolved in July 2025, following allegations by ministers that it was susceptible to “foreign influences.”

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org