Karma massacre

Karma massacre
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location	Karma, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso
Date	20 April 2023 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Local time
Target	Civilians
Attack type	Massacre
Deaths	60 per Burkina Faso 136 per CISC 147 per AI 150 per UN 156 per HRW
Perpetrators	Rapid Intervention Brigade 3rd Battalion
Motive	Revenge for attack (suspected)

The Karma massacre was a massacre in the village of Karma, Burkina Faso. The massacre occurred on 20 April 2023 and is suspected to have been carried out by the 3rd Battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade from the Burkina Faso Armed Forces. Between 60–156 civilians were killed in the massacre making it one of the worst in the Burkina Faso insurgency.

Background

Burkina Faso has been locked in an insurgency since 2015. The insurgency began when Jihadists attacked and kidnapped a Romanian security chief of a manganese mine. The Insurgency spread throughout the north of the country with actors like ISGS and JNIM launching attacks at a frequency of 30-40 a week. Numerous human rights violations have been committed by both sides including massacres.

Massacre

At 7:30 am on April 20, hundreds of people dressed in army uniforms which eyewitnesses describe as having BIR3 patches confirming that they were a part of the 3rd Battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade. The troops then surrounded the village of Karma, and then entered the village on motorcycles, pickup trucks, armored vehicles, and what survivors describe as a “tank”. The soldier moved into town and demanded to see the villager's IDs, they began looting the civilians of the village stealing their phones and money. The soldiers rounded up everyone they could find into groups of a few dozen, other civilians fled or hid before the shooting started.

The imam of the village was killed in front of the mosque. A group of 11 people were tied up and blindfolded, then killed on the side of a hill. Another group of primarily women and children were killed in the Moingayiri neighborhood, with some children being as young as 10 days old. Another group of 13 men was killed in a home's courtyard. People that weren’t rounded up in the village hid in their homes attackers followed them before breaking in the door and killing them. People who were injured that attempted to run were killed. The attackers also looted shops, homes, and mosques, stealing valuable items, money, and at least 10 motorcycles. The soldiers then set fire to most of the village, 40 granaries, 17 barns, and 40 homes were burned. The killings lasted until 2:00 PM before the convoy, which was followed by a military helicopter left for the village of Dinguiri. Later that day the convoy arrived at the town of Diguiri, where they killed six civilians. Two more were killed in the town of Mene and another three were killed on the road between the towns of Ouahigouya and Barga.

Death toll and motive

The massacre occurred a week after the Jihadist attack on the village of Aorema killed 40 soldiers and militia that prompted the military Junta in control of Burkina Faso to state that they will institute general mobilization. Attackers are said to have accused the villagers in Karma of sheltering and supporting Jihadists. The Ouahigouya high court prosecutor Lamine Kabore says that at least 60 civilians were killed in the attack while the CISC (Collective against Impunity and Stigmatisation of Communities) put the toll at 136. Amnesty International puts the number at 147 killed and the UN's High Commissioner for human Rights Ravina Shamdasani, put the death toll at 150. While Human Rights Watch based on survivors compiling names of the people killed, got a total of 156 killed. The ruling junta of Burkina Faso condemned the massacre and urged to carry out an investigation.