Survivors detail deadly attack by security forces in Burkina Faso

DAKAR, Senegal — Women slain with babies wrapped against their bodies, lifeless children intertwined together, a 2-month-old face-up on the ground with puppies crawling on his tiny frame. The scenes were horrifying, but the 32-year-old farmer felt he had to document them, as proof of the carnage in his central Burkina Faso village.

More than 20,000 people have been killed since jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The fighting has divided a once peaceful population, blockaded dozens of cities and led to two military coups.

Burkina Faso’s prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation. Four months later, survivors said they’ve had no news.It was early morning when the farmer heard gunshots in the distance. Violence in Namentenga province is frequent, locals said — shootings and patrolling soldiers are common.About 3 p.m., the farmer said, hundreds of men — most in military fatigues — stormed through on motorbikes and trucks and started indiscriminately killing people.

In November, days after the Zaongo massacre, 50 Russians arrived in Burkina Faso to protect the junta, influence public opinion and provide security services, said Lou Osborn with All Eyes on Wagner, a project focusing on the Russian mercenary group, which operates in a handful of African countries. The third survivor who spoke to AP, a 55-year-old man, said villagers had been accused of working with jihadis because they refused to join tens of thousands of volunteers fighting alongside the military.

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