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• New report highlights killings by Burkina Faso military, allies
• Civilians' deaths part of 'regional pattern', researcher says
• Killings risk fuelling jihadist recruitment in Sahel, analysts say

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.

Widespread deaths of civilians at the hands of government forces could bolster the political legitimacy of militant groups and fuel recruitment, analysts said.

They could also complicate steps by the United States to improve relations ​with Sahel governments, which expelled French and other Western forces after their respective coups.

The Burkinabe forces' behaviour is part of a regional pattern, raising concerns ⁠about military indiscipline and its consequences for counterinsurgency efforts, she said.

Covering the period between January 2023 and ​August 2025, the HRW report documents 57 incidents in which at least 1,837 civilians were killed. Of those, 33 were committed by government forces and their allies, resulting in 1,255 civilian deaths, according to the report, which details widespread abuses by all parties to the conflict.

"When the army arrived in this ​village and saw that it was populated, they surrounded ​the entire village and they exterminated everything – every ⁠living being," he told Reuters. “People tried to flee, but if you run, they shoot at you.”

##See also:

• Over 1,800 killed since junta seized power in Burkina Faso, rights group says (BBC)