Image: Burkina Faso from OpenStreetMap (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Today Human Rights Watch launched a new landmark report, supported by chain of command research by Security Force Monitor, on the conflict in Burkina Faso.
The Burkina Faso military with its allied militias and an Al Qaeda-linked armed group have killed more than 1,800 civilians and forcibly displaced tens of thousands since 2023, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. These atrocities, including the government’s ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity for which senior leaders on all sides may be liable.
The 316-page report, “‘None Can Run Away’: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Burkina Faso by All Sides,” documents the devastating impact on civilians of an armed conflict that has received scant global attention. Researchers documented 57 incidents involving Burkinabè military forces and allied militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDPs), and the Islamist armed group Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimin (JNIM) since the current military junta seized power in September 2022.
– Human Rights Watch, “Burkina Faso: Crimes Against Humanity by All Sides”
Security Force Monitor worked closely with HRW and conducted in depth open source research on the chain of command of the Burkinabè military stretching over three years. As detailed in the HRW report, we tracked the dramatic restructuring and growth of the military with more than 20 new units being created along with an entirely new chain of command for these units. This careful research came from digging through official decrees and laws, state and local media reporting, and government websites .
However, there were many challenges along the way, primarily from conflicting claims about who was in command when or even how many military units existed. Another challenge rose from properly identifying the ranks of commanders as different sources appeared to reference commanders with non-existent ranks. In the coming weeks we’ll detail how these challenges were resolved through research and cross-referencing claims made from different sources.
The full report can be found here.