- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 8,541
- 0
- 6
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report Tuesday urging authorities in Burkina Faso to investigate and protect its citizens following the August 24, 2024 attack on civilians by the armed Islamic group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen (JNIM). The attack which occurred at a military trench digging site left casualties of over 133 and 200 people injured.
HRW further states that the civilians working on the trench were forced by soldiers by beating and coercion. A direct quote from an individual who survived the JNIM attack stated that “[o]n the day of the attack, some soldiers came to my door and ordered me to go dig the trench,” and that he had no choice but to work on the trench digging as the soldiers “beat [him] with a rope” and forced his compliance. HRW states that “the government has put [civilians] at unnecessary risk” and explains that if the labor was indeed forced by the soldiers, they, along with the government, have broken the laws of Burkina Faso. It is necessary to ensure such actions are not repeated, particularly when machinery has been outsourced to complete the trench, demonstrating that manual labour was both cruel and unnecessary for any military outcome.
Another issue then arises with the defiance of global “laws of war” that prohibit attacks on civilians unless they are “directly participating in the hostilities.” As working on the trench does not constitute participation in hostilities, JNIM has committed war crimes within said terror attack.
Vision of Humanity ranks Burkina Faso as number one in its ‘Overall Terrorism Index Score,’ which creates an index based on ‘incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostages.’ As of 2023, the score was 8.571, nearly 0.4 points higher than the second-ranking nation of Israel. The statistic is in light of recurrent military coups that have seen the disestablishment of strong governance amidst the “growing jihadist insurgency that has plagued the region as well as weak civilian oversight of the military.” Corruption has also been highly prominent within the nation, “divert[ing] resources away from critical security needs, weakening the military’s operational capabilities [and] eroding the trust between the armed forces and the civilian government.”
Statements made by the UN Special Rapporteur on August 30, 2024, corroborate those of the Human Rights Watch as they suggest, “Both countries must investigate these crimes in line with international law and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators to ensure justice for victims.” He also urged “the Government of Burkina Faso to investigate reports that civilians in Barsalogho were coerced into digging ditches to defend the town in advance of the attack. If true, the coercion would [violate] international law.”
The post Investigation into exploitation of Burkina Faso civilians urged amid terror attacks appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
HRW further states that the civilians working on the trench were forced by soldiers by beating and coercion. A direct quote from an individual who survived the JNIM attack stated that “[o]n the day of the attack, some soldiers came to my door and ordered me to go dig the trench,” and that he had no choice but to work on the trench digging as the soldiers “beat [him] with a rope” and forced his compliance. HRW states that “the government has put [civilians] at unnecessary risk” and explains that if the labor was indeed forced by the soldiers, they, along with the government, have broken the laws of Burkina Faso. It is necessary to ensure such actions are not repeated, particularly when machinery has been outsourced to complete the trench, demonstrating that manual labour was both cruel and unnecessary for any military outcome.
Another issue then arises with the defiance of global “laws of war” that prohibit attacks on civilians unless they are “directly participating in the hostilities.” As working on the trench does not constitute participation in hostilities, JNIM has committed war crimes within said terror attack.
Vision of Humanity ranks Burkina Faso as number one in its ‘Overall Terrorism Index Score,’ which creates an index based on ‘incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostages.’ As of 2023, the score was 8.571, nearly 0.4 points higher than the second-ranking nation of Israel. The statistic is in light of recurrent military coups that have seen the disestablishment of strong governance amidst the “growing jihadist insurgency that has plagued the region as well as weak civilian oversight of the military.” Corruption has also been highly prominent within the nation, “divert[ing] resources away from critical security needs, weakening the military’s operational capabilities [and] eroding the trust between the armed forces and the civilian government.”
Statements made by the UN Special Rapporteur on August 30, 2024, corroborate those of the Human Rights Watch as they suggest, “Both countries must investigate these crimes in line with international law and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators to ensure justice for victims.” He also urged “the Government of Burkina Faso to investigate reports that civilians in Barsalogho were coerced into digging ditches to defend the town in advance of the attack. If true, the coercion would [violate] international law.”
The post Investigation into exploitation of Burkina Faso civilians urged amid terror attacks appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.