Karma massacre

Last updated
Karma massacre
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
LocationKarma, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso
Date20 April 2023
7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Local time
TargetCivilians
Attack type
Massacre
Deaths60 per Burkina Faso
136 per CISC
147 per AI
150 per UN
156 per HRW
PerpetratorsRapid Intervention Brigade 3rd Battalion
MotiveRevenge for attack (suspected)

The Karma massacre was a massacre in the village of Karma, Burkina Faso. The massacre occurred on 20 April 2023 and is suspected to have been carried out by the 3rd Battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade from the Burkina Faso Armed Forces. Between 60-156 civilians were killed in the massacre making it one of the worst in the Burkina Faso insurgency.

Contents

Background

Burkina Faso has been locked in an Insurgency since 2015. The insurgency began when Jihadists attacked and kidnapped a Romanian security chief of a manganese mine. The Insurgency spread throughout the north of the country with actors like ISGS and JNIM launching attacks at a frequency of 30-40 a week. Numerous human rights violations have been committed by both sides including massacres. [1]

Massacre

At 7:30 am on April 20, Hundreds of people dressed in army uniforms which eyewitnesses describe as having BIR3 patches confirming that they were a part of the 3rd Battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade. The troops then surrounded the village of Karma, and then entered the village on motorcycles, pickup trucks, armored vehicles, and what survivors describe as a “tank”. The soldier moved into town and demanded to see the villager's IDs, they began looting the civilians of the village stealing their phones and money. The soldiers rounded up everyone they could find into groups of a few dozen, other civilians fled or hid before the shooting started. [2] [3] [4]

The Imam of the village was killed in front of the mosque. A group of 11 people were tied up and blindfolded then killed on the side of a hill. Another group of primarily women and children were killed in the Moingayiri neighborhood, with some children being as young as 10 days old. Another group of 13 men was killed in a home's courtyard. People that weren’t rounded up in the village hid in their homes attackers followed them before breaking in the door and killing them. People who were injured that attempted to run were killed. The attackers also looted shops, homes, and mosques, stealing valuable items, money, and at least 10 motorcycles. [5] [2] The soldiers then set fire to the most of the village, 40 granaries, 17 barns, and 40 homes were burned.The killings lasted until 2:00 PM before the convoy, which was followed by a military helicopter left for the village of Dinguiri. [4] Later that day the convoy arrived at the town of Diguiri, where they killed six civilians. Two more were killed in the town of Mene and another three were killed on the road between the towns of Ouahigouya and Barga. [6] [7] [8] [3]

Death toll and motive

The massacre occurred a week after the Jihadist attack on the village of Aorema killed 40 soldiers and militia that prompted the military Junta in control of Burkina Faso to state that they will institute general mobilization. Attackers are said to have accused the villagers in Karma of sheltering and supporting Jihadists. The Ouahigouya high court prosecutor Lamine Kabore says that at least 60 civilians were killed in the attack while the CISC (Collective against Impunity and Stigmatisation of Communities) put the toll at 136. Amnesty International puts the number at 147 killed [2] and the UN's High Commissioner for human Rights Ravina Shamdasani, put the death toll at 150. [6] [7] [3] [9] While Human Rights Watch based on survivors compiling names of the people killed, got a total of 156 killed. [4] The ruling junta of Burkina Faso condemned the massacre and urged to carry out an investigation. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso Armed Forces</span> National military of Burkina Faso

The Burkina Faso Armed Forces is the term used for the national military of Burkina Faso. The service branches of the armed forces include its Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie and People's Militia. Being a landlocked country, Burkina Faso has no navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadist insurgency in Niger</span> Civil conflict in Niger

Since 2015, the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger has been a hotbed for jihadist forces originating from Mali. The insurgency has taken place in two distinct regions of Niger. In southwest, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the Nusrat al-Islam have carried out attacks in the tri-border area with Burkina Faso and Mali. Meanwhile, in the southeast, the Islamic State in the West African Province has established control in parts of southern Niger.

On 3 May 2021, Islamic militants attacked Kodyel, a village in Foutouri, Burkina Faso. The attack left at least 30 people dead and another 20 injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solhan and Tadaryat massacres</span> Insurgent attacks in Burkina Faso

On 4 and 5 June 2021, insurgents attacked the Solhan and Tadaryat villages in the Yagha Province of Burkina Faso. The massacres left at least 174 people dead. Insurgents have been attacking the Sahel Region, along the border with Mali, since Islamists captured parts of Mali in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso</span> Ongoing insurgency in Burkina Faso (2015–present)

An ongoing war and civil conflict between the Government of Burkina Faso and Islamist rebels began in August 2015 and has led to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians and combatants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland</span> Armed group in Burkina Faso

The Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland is an armed self-defense group in Burkina Faso created to fight jihadist insurgents. It is an auxiliary force supporting the Burkina Faso Armed Forces.

On 25 May 2022, armed assailants suspected to be jihadists attacked the rural locality of Madjoari in the Kompienga Province of Burkina Faso. The massacre left at least 50 civilians dead as they were attempting to flee a blockade. It was the third attack to take place in Madjoari in May 2022, after an attack on 14 May that killed 17 civilians and another on 19 May that killed 11 soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamist insurgency in the Sahel</span> Insurgency throughout the Sahel and West Africa

An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Djibo</span> Battle between Burkina Faso and Jihadist rebels

The siege of Djibo is an ongoing blockade of the city of Djibo in Burkina Faso by several factions of Jihadist Islamist rebels. The siege began in February 2022, and is part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso.

On January 10, 2019, Ansarul Islam militants killed 20 civilians in Gasseliki, Burkina Faso. The attack came in the wake of a massacre perpetrated by the Koglweogo in Yirgou, in Barsalogho department, just days earlier.

On September 26, 2022, a convoy bound for the besieged city of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso was attacked by armed gunmen, killing 27 soldiers and 10 civilians. The Mali-based jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Gaskinde attack was a key reason for the September 30 coup in Burkina Faso, as many frontline officers were disgruntled about Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba's handling of the jihadist insurgency.

On April 8, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed a Burkinabe military base near the town of Namissiguima, in Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso.

The Ouahigouya ambush took place near Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso, between February 7 and 8, 2022. French forces launched an airstrike on Ansar ul Islam militants responsible for the November Inata attack that killed dozens of Burkinabe police officers.

On April 24, 2022, militants from Katibat Macina attacked Malian Army bases in the cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho, all in central Mali's Mopti Region. The attacks killed fifteen soldiers and six civilians.

On December 30, 2022, dozo militants affiliated with the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) killed over 88 civilians in Nouna, Burkina Faso.

On January 28, 2023, suspected Islamic State jihadists attacked Burkinabe soldiers and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) militiamen in the city of Falagountou, Burkina Faso.

Between November 2019 and June 2020, the bodies of over 180 civilians were discovered in and around the city of Djibo, Burkina Faso. Most of the killings targeted Fulani, and were committed by Burkinabe Armed Forces, Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), and Defense and Security Forces (FDS). Several mass graves were made for the victims in March and April 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nondin and Soro massacres</span> 2024 massacres in Burkina Faso

On 25 February 2024, members of the Burkina Faso Armed Forces allegedly summarily executed around 223 civilians, including 56 children, in Yatenga Province, northern Burkina Faso. The massacres took place in the villages of Nondin and Soro, and were perpetrated in retaliation for alleged civilian collaboration with jihadist militias. Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the killings as one of the worst Burkinabe army abuses since 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Factfile: The Raging Jihadist Insurgency In Burkina Faso". Agence France Presse. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Burkina Faso: Responsibility of the army indicated in Karma massacre". Amnesty International. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Survivors Of Burkina Village Massacre Recount Hours-long Nightmare". Barron's. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Burkina Faso: Army Linked to Massacre of 156 Civilians". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Burkina Faso: UN calls for investigation into massacre of 150 civilians". United Nations. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Burkina Faso rights group says 136 killed in massacre by uniformed men". NATION. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Burkina junta breaks silence over massacre by men 'in army uniform'". rFI. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=545281284452763&set=pcb.545281371119421
  9. ↑ "Burkina Faso: Killing of Civilians". OHCHR. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.