APA – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – Almost a week after the killing of civilians in the town of Karma by alleged Burkinabe soldiers, the transitional authorities have issued a statement, condemning the carnage.
The government “strongly condemned the killing of dozens of people in the village of Karma on April 21, 2023 in circumstances that have not yet been clarified,”.
The town is located in the province of Yatenga.
Government spokesman, Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, confirmed reports that the perpetrators were “armed men dressed in the uniforms of the Burkinabe armed forces,” adding that they “massacred and looted the property of peaceful inhabitants of the village of Karma and injured several others.”
Minister Ouédraogo described the acts as “despicable and barbaric” and offered the government’s condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
“The government assures citizens that it will do absolutely everything within its prerogatives for the full manifestation of the truth in this tragedy,” said Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, who reaffirmed the commitment of the transitional authorities to the protection of human life.
He said the executive was “following very closely the progress of the investigation” opened by the public prosecutor of Faso at the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Ouahigouya.
On Thursday, April 20, the village of Karma, located about 15 kilometers from Ouahigouya, was “surrounded by a large number of men dressed in Burkinabé military fatigues” on “motorcycles, vehicles – pickup trucks and armored vehicles – and a tank,” according to survivors.
The attack, which was officially reported on Sunday, left “about 60” dead, according to a local prosecutor, and “more than 100” dead, according to relatives of survivors and residents of Karma.
The United Nations, which put the death toll at at least 150, called for a “thorough, independent and impartial investigation” that “should lead to credible judicial proceedings.”
The Burkinabe army and its auxiliaries are regularly accused of abuses against civilians.
According to the UN, they have carried out attacks in other villages in the country in recent months, killing more than 70 people.
DS/ac/lb/as/APA