According to a new study by Human Rights Watch (HRW), government forces and affiliated militia in Burkina Faso killed at least 130 civilians in March close to the western town of Solenzo.
It claims that the “massacre” that followed an operation by Burkinabè special forces caused many civilian deaths and forced ethnic Fulanis to relocate.
The government frequently accuses the Fulani, a pastoralist and predominantly Muslim group, of supporting Islamist insurgents; however, community leaders refute this accusation.
Groups associated with Islamic State and al-Qaeda that operate in the Sahel area of West Africa control almost 40% of Burkina Faso.
