Burkina Faso’s military is committing atrocities, including the ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, Human Rights Watch has found, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West African country.
In a report released on Thursday and titled “None Can Run Away,” the New York-based watchdog presented its findings after conducting in-person and phone interviews with more than 450 people in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Mali about abuses between January 2023 and August 2025.
Using extensive open-source analysis, including satellite imagery, audiovisual footage, and official documents, its researchers verified 57 incidents involving Burkinabe military forces and allied militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, as well as the al-Qaeda-linked armed group, Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimin.
Its report said that of the 1,837 civilians killed in the country between January 2023 and August 2025, more than 1,200 were the result of government forces. At least two million people are estimated to have been displaced since the conflict began, according to the United Nations.
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