A 316-page Human Rights Watch (HRW) report says Burkina Faso’s security forces and allied militias caused more than twice as many civilian deaths as militant jihadist groups over a roughly two-and-a-half-year period, and that some of those actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Based on 450 interviews plus verified social media and satellite imagery, HRW documented at least 1,837 civilian deaths in 57 separate incidents between January 2023 and August 2025. Thirty-three of those incidents were carried out by government forces or their allied militias; HRW attributes roughly 1,255 civilian deaths to official forces. The report also documents widespread abuses by nonstate armed groups, including Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
HRW senior Sahel researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi said Burkina Faso’s security forces and allied militias “appear to be more brutal and violent” than some militant groups, and that government operations frequently involve summary killings and collective reprisals. The report highlights what it calls systematic targeting of the Fulani community — a semi-nomadic pastoralist group of about 1.8 million people (roughly 8.5% of the country) — describing repeated reprisal attacks on villages accused of collaborating with JNIM. HRW concludes these patterns suggest a de facto policy of targeting Fulani civilians and warns senior leaders on all sides may bear responsibility for grave crimes.
The report places these abuses in the context of a worsening security and humanitarian crisis. A military junta that took power in 2022 has not restored control: more than 60% of Burkina Faso is estimated to be outside government authority, over 2.1 million people are displaced, and almost 6.5 million require humanitarian assistance. HRW warns that abuses by state forces risk fueling militant recruitment and complicating relations with Western partners; since the coup the government has expelled French troops and sought closer ties with Russia.
HRW also documents censorship and intimidation that hinder reporting: journalists, activists and witnesses who criticize security forces risk abduction, imprisonment or forced conscription. The government denies allegations of extrajudicial killings, insisting its forces only target “terrorists.”
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah