Attack on Barsalogho (Burkina Faso): People’s Coalition for the Sahel condemns a serious violation of human dignity and calls for justice for the victims
Statement by the People’s Coalition for the Sahel, 13 September 2024
Ouagadougou, 13 September 2024 - Ouagadougou, 13 September 2024 - It is with sadness and indignation that the People's Coalition for the Sahel has learned of the deaths of several dozen civilians, as well as members of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), in an attack by an armed extremist group on 24 August 2024, in Barsalogho, in the Centre-North of Burkina Faso, while the victims were digging a trench to protect the town.
This crime, claimed by the JNIM, an Al Qaeda affiliate, is a serious attack on human dignity, the right to life and physical integrity, plunging into mourning the people of Burkina Faso, already battered in their fight against armed violence.
At this very challenging time for the nation, the People’s Coalition for the Sahel pays its respects to the memory of all the victims and offers its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the people of Burkina Faso. It wishes the injured a speedy recovery.
Twenty days after the tragedy, the People’s Coalition for the Sahel calls for the victims of Barsalogho not to be forgotten and makes the following recommendations:
Condemns in the strongest terms this new act against civilians, the FDS and the VDP, and expresses its deepest sympathy to the people of Burkina Faso;
Takes note of the visit by the General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and the Ministers for Security, Humanitarian Action and Communication to Barsalogho, two days after the massacre, and calls on the highest State authorities to step up their efforts to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to the survivors and the families of the victims;
Encourages the authorities to continue their efforts to shed full light on this tragedy, and to seek out, apprehend and hold accountable those responsible, in order to bring justice to the victims and their families;
Encourages the Burkina Faso authorities to prioritise the protection of civilians and respect for human dignity in their legitimate efforts to secure people and property throughout the country, in accordance with the four ‘People’s Pillars’, which are the foundational principles of the People’s Coalition for the Sahel.