20 killed in reprisal attack in northern Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - An Association for the Defence of the Rights of the Peule Community, called "Kisal", announced on Tuesday the death, on Monday, of "at least 20 people" in a reprisal against against the community, following a terrorist attack in which a religious leader and his relatives were killed.
"Since the morning of 1 April, Arbinda commune has been the scene of attacks in retaliation against the Peule community following the murder of a religious leader and at least two other members of his family by unidentified armed individuals."
Arbinda is a commune located in Soum province, in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso.
"The massacre of the Peule community is perpetrated by certain "kogleweogo" elements (self-defence militia) and a part of the population.
The most affected villages are Bodêyol, Tengasouka, Tissi, Lêlê and Aladjo...", says "Kisal".
"According to the testimonies we have received, a security system is in place and is trying to interpose itself with warning shots," she added.
The NGO congratulated the Defence and Security Forces (DSF), inviting them to strengthen their numbers and positions in order to spare innocent populations from death.
"In the face of this unspeakable human barbarism, the international community is more than ever challenged and must act so that respect for human life becomes a reality," she stressed.
No official reaction has been recorded from the Burkinabe government.
On New Year's Eve, some 50 Fulani lost their lives in a similar conflict in the north-central part of the country, according to the government, but civil society organizetions put the toll at 200.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/IBA/MTA/VAO 2April2019
