When the death of the poor does not appear in the news

May 24, 2024

OUAGADOUGOU: On May 6, a tragic betrayal of trust resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians in Burkina Faso. Believing in the protection their ID cards should have afforded them, 21 individuals in the courtyard of Moualoungou village and 130 residents of Tambi Bounima village — including pregnant women, men, children, and bystanders — were mercilessly killed by a military convoy accompanied by the “Volunteers of the Fatherland.”

Most of these victims were impoverished farmers and Christians, a demographic seemingly disregarded by the ruling military regime, which denies any acknowledgment of their deaths. Their existence was cruelly erased, victims of a cycle of violence that meets opposition with brutality.

Earlier instances of violence confirm this pattern. Reports from February and March detailed the roadside killings of several individuals from Bibigou and Soualamou in the Gourmanché region, with mobile phone footage corroborating witness accounts.

The local farmers, trapped by demands for per capita “taxes,” forced conversions by jihadist groups, or compelled to flee with nothing, now seek refuge in the bush or across national borders. According to a local catechist, human rights are blatantly ignored, and censorship is rampant.

Since the previous November, the European Union has been pressuring military leaders in Burkina Faso to investigate civilian killings reported across the country. Human Rights Watch has also stepped in, accusing the authorities of executing 223 civilians, including 56 children, in just two village attacks in February 2024. — Fides