The prosecutor of Burkina Faso, Simon Gnanu, said on Monday that he had visited the village of Zaongo (Centre-Nord region), scene of a massacre on Sunday, November 5 as part of a judicial investigation.
“Initial findings have allowed the team to provisionally count seventy (70) people killed, mainly children and elderly (men and women), and concessions burned or partially destroyed,” said the prosecutor, who reports to the Kaya High Court.
He added that further investigations, especially by interviewing the relatives of the victims and the wounded, would make it possible to determine the exact number of dead, wounded and possibly missing persons.
“At the present stage of our findings and the testimonies collected, the perpetrators of these atrocities remain unknown for the time being. Investigations are continuing to identify them,” the judge said.
The European Union and the United States have called on the transitional authorities to shed light on a new massacre of civilians.
Burkina has been caught in a spiral of violence by jihadist groups since 2015, which has left more than 17,000 people dead and more than 2 million displaced.
SD/ac/lb/as/APA