Burkina's ruling junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore that took power in a September 2022 coup has been unable to stem violence waged by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which have caused thousands of deaths over the past decade, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), on Thursday (April 2, 2026).
According to the HRW, the Army relies on the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), made up of civilian volunteers recruited to aid in the fight against jihadists.
“The Army, VDP and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, have killed "at least 1,837 civilians in 11 regions of the country between January 2023 and August 2025", including dozens of children, in 57 incidents,” HRW said.
"The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should open a preliminary examination into war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Burkina Faso since September 2022," the report said.
Of the total killed, HRW found that at least 1,255 civilians were killed in 33 incidents carried out by the military and VDPs between January 2023 and April 2025, while JNIM was responsible for at least 582 deaths in 24 attacks over that same period.
