National Army promises investigation after discovery of seven bodies in eastern Burkina Faso

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) -  Burkina Faso's army announced an investigation on Thursday after seven  bullet-riddled bodies were found in the eastern town of Tanwalbougou on Tuesday.

Following a military operation on 29 June 2020 in Boumoana town, near Tanwalbougou, seven bodies of people who were gunned down were reportedly discovered by the inhabitants on the outskirts of the town, the army said in a statement.

"In order to shed light on these events and locate public opinion, the Minister of State, Minister of National Defence and Veterans Affairs has instructed the General Inspectorate of the National Armed Forces to initiate an administrative investigation," the statement added.

On Wednesday, several civil society organizations said that these were abuses committed by the army against civilian populations, including the Peul community.

The Minister of National Defence and Veterans Affairs, who offered his "sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims", reassured "that if the responsibility for elements of the defence and security forces is established, the perpetrators will be held accountable, in accordance with the laws and regulations that govern the National Armed Forces".

A few weeks earlier, in the same town, about 20 people were arrested and taken to the premises of a gendarmerie, the bodies of a dozen of them were discovered the next day in cells.

The majority of them were from the Peul ethnic group.

Burkina Faso's security situation has been marked by terrorist attacks since 2015, with several deaths and thousands displaced.

It is in this deleterious climate that the country is preparing for the double presidential and legislative elections on 22 November.

-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/BBA/AR 2July2020