Burkina Faso put civilians at ‘unnecessary risk’ during militant attack, rights group says

Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Human Rights Watch says in a new report that Burkina Faso’s government unnecessarily exposed civilians to danger during a militant attack earlier this year. That’s according to a new report released Tuesday. Last August, at least 100 villagers were killed by militants in central Burkina Faso, in one of the deadliest attacks this year in the conflict-battered West African nation. Villagers in the Barsalogho commune, which is 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the capital Ouagadougou, were forcibly helping security forces dig up trenches to protect security outposts and villages when fighters with the al-Qaida-linked JNIM group invaded the area and opened fire on them, according to the report.