Government and allied forces in Burkina Faso have killed more than twice as many civilians as Islamist militants have since 2023, according to a tally of incidents documented in a report, opens new tab published on Thursday by Human Rights Watch. The pattern is broadly consistent with data shared ​with Reuters by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a conflict monitoring group, and also applies to neighbouring Mali. In that country, which like Burkina Faso is ruled by a military-led government ‌that seized power in a coup, government forces and their partners have been responsible for three to four times as many civilian killings as jihadists over the last two years, according to ACLED’s data. Violence involving jihadist groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has surged since 2021, making the Sahel region a global terrorism hotspot.

Full report : Burkina, Mali troops kill more civilians than jihadists do, data shows.