Burkina Faso Military Investigates Graphic Video Allegedly Featuring Volunteers

The armed forces of Burkina Faso have stated they are investigating a disturbing video that reportedly depicts military volunteers dismembering a deceased individual with machetes, while appearing to boast on camera. The general staff indicated in a statement that efforts are ongoing to authenticate the video and identify the individuals featured “so that they can be held accountable for their actions, if the facts are proven.” This West African nation is currently governed by its military, which assumed authority nearly three years prior with a pledge to resolve the persistent insecurity that has displaced two million residents. However, attempts to overcome armed factions and Islamist combatants have been unsuccessful thus far, with approximately 40% of the country’s territory estimated to be under their command. The video under scrutiny started circulating over the weekend. It displays a deceased body with its head and arms detached, and its abdomen incised. “We beat them,” one man in the video exclaims in Burkina Faso’s Dioula language. Another voice declares, “It will all end this year. May God bless the VDP.” VDP stands for the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland. Burkina Faso possesses a history of armed community militias, for whom the government established an official capacity in 2020, a role that has subsequently been broadened under the current military administration. While some individuals in the video are dressed in military fatigues, there is no other information regarding their identities, or the location and timing of the event. This is not the initial instance of footage purporting to show atrocities committed by government-aligned combatants appearing online. In July, social media featured videos depicting alleged soldiers and volunteers mutilating deceased individuals, an act that Burkina Faso’s army publicly denounced. The nation’s armed forces have faced accusations of committing atrocities and extrajudicial killings. Human Rights Watch reported that the military carried out a massacre of over 220 civilians, including a minimum of 56 children, on a single day earlier this year. The authorities offered no comment regarding this report. This recent video has generated widespread indignation, leading Burkina Faso’s military general staff to assert its commitment to the nation’s welfare. In its statement issued on Sunday, it declared: “All operations to reconquer the national territory are conducted with the greatest respect for human rights.” Burkina Faso is situated in West Africa’s Sahel region, identified as the new global hub for the Islamic State group, and also hosts numerous other jihadist organizations. A substantial contingent of Russian forces arrived in the country in January, signaling strengthening relations, one year after French troops engaged in counter-insurgency operations were expelled from the nation. The Sahelian countries governed by juntas, namely Burkina, Mali, and Niger, have all sought assistance from Russia in recent years through agreements that have not enhanced security and have, in some instances, led to atrocities against civilian populations. Over the weekend, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister commended Russia, stating it represented a more appropriate partner than France, the former colonial power. As influence and authority diminish for the Sahel nations’ conventional Western allies, the European Union’s regional envoy has pledged: “We have to continue to stay by their side.” “There is a reconfiguration of the region which has an impact on all of western Africa and the rest of Africa.” For additional news from the African continent, visit BBCAfrica.com. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa, or on Instagram at bbcafrica. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.