HRW calls for investigation into ‘horrific’ mutilations in Burkina Faso

The Burkinabe military said the origin of the videos was being investigated because they did not specify the location, date or people involved. (AP Photo)

ABIDJAN: Human Rights Watch on Friday called for an “impartial investigation” into the mutilation of a corpse by soldiers in the Burkinabe army, which condemned the violence.

“The Burkinabe authorities should immediately open a transparent and impartial investigation into this brutal incident and appropriately punish all those responsible,” HRW said in a statement.

The rights group said an 81-second video, widely shared on social media, shows at least 18 men wearing identifiable military uniforms watching as two of them use knives on their bodies.

Soldiers could be seen “mutilating and disemboweling a corpse,” the group said, demanding that “all those found responsible for wrongdoing be appropriately prosecuted, regardless of rank.”

The country’s military leadership said earlier this week that it “strongly condemns these gruesome acts, which are contrary to military and moral values ​​and the rules of engagement of fighters in the fight against terrorism.”

The military said the origin of the videos was under investigation, as they did not specify the location, date or identity of the individuals involved. HRW, however, stressed that no criminal investigation had been announced by the junta that seized power in a 2022 coup.

According to the human rights organisation, citing its own sources, the footage was filmed between April and May near Nouna, in the northwest.

A jihadist insurgency that broke out in Mali in 2012 spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.

The Burkinabe army has consistently denied repeated allegations of extrajudicial executions, sometimes attributing the acts to armed groups using military equipment.

“This gruesome video showing soldiers mutilating a body underscores the general lack of accountability for atrocities committed by military units in Burkina Faso in recent years,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior HRW researcher.

In April, HRW accused the Burkinabe army of killing at least 223 civilians, including 56 children, in the north of the country.