Jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda killed at least 38 civilians and kidnapped nine women in Burkina Faso in less than a month, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, is among the most powerful of the radical Islamist militias that have ravaged the Sahel region of west Africa for more than a decade.
As part of its insurgency, the armed group launched attacks across the Sahel and Burkina Faso in February, aiming to expand its reach south into neighbouring Benin.
Between January 29 and February 22, the JNIM "killed at least 38 civilians, abducted nine women, and burned property in three separate incidents", HRW said.
The watchdog said it had interviewed 20 people, including 10 witnesses, along with journalists, civil society figures and locals to document the "atrocities", which HRW called "apparent war crimes".
According to the rights organisation, the JNIM appeared to be targeting communities seen as having links to Burkina Faso's civilian volunteer militia, the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP).
On January 29, JNIM fighters abducted nine women outside the northern village of Solle, threatening them with rape and death before releasing them the next day, HRW reported.
A 42-year-old survivor told the rights group that the jihadists suspected them of being "wives of VDPs who came to spy on us".
On February 14, the JNIM "executed at least 34 civilians, burned property, and destroyed telecommunications infrastructure" in a raid targeting a military base in the northern town of Titao.
"I hid behind a wall, as men who attempted to run were gunned down before my eyes," a 37-year-old farmer who survived the attack on Titao's market told HRW.
On February 22, the JNIM also "executed four shopkeepers and burned their stores and attacked the gendarmerie and militia positions" in an attack on the eastern town of Manni.
The seized power in a 2022 coup on a pledge to tackle the jihadist unrest, but Burkina Faso remains gripped by violence.
Since 2015, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of civilians and fighters, more than half of whom died in the past three years, according to the ACLED conflict monitor.
