In an interview following a massacre in central Burkina Faso claimed by an Al Qaeda-linked group, a woman who survived the attack recounted the traumatic experience of searching for her brothers among the bodies.
“We went out with carts to collect the bodies of my older brothers,” said the 38-year-old woman, who escaped with her toddler. “We spent a long time going through bodies piled up under trees.”
The woman, who gave her interview to an aid worker in Kaya—a town where many survivors have fled—provided her account in an audio recording shared.
She consented to the release of her story to the media under the condition that her name and voice remain anonymous for safety reasons.
The attack near Barsalogho is considered one of the deadliest in nearly a decade of Islamist violence in Burkina Faso.
Relatives of the victims reported that at least 400 people were killed when jihadists targeted civilians digging defensive trenches under military orders.
In the interview, the woman described that the massacre occurred on Saturday morning. The army had ordered all men in the town to dig trenches for protection, while women and young children were tasked with clearing vegetation to aid visibility for stationed soldiers.
The militants, whom she referred to as “bushmen,” attacked around 10 a.m., shooting both soldiers and civilians.
The violence continued until drones arrived later in the day. It took three days for the survivors, primarily women and children, to gather the bodies.
The Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting that they targeted soldiers and militia members excavating trenches and that nearly 300 people killed were all fighters, not civilians.
However, several videos released by the militants on social media, showing over 100 bodies in a trench—mostly in civilian clothing—were verified by Reuters through satellite imagery.
The interviewed woman reported that civilians, soldiers, and volunteer auxiliaries known as VDPs were among the victims. She noted that one family lost 30 members and another family of 13 was completely destroyed.
While Burkina Faso’s ruling junta has not confirmed the death toll, they have acknowledged that civilians were among those killed.
Widespread Bloodshed
Survivors brought the bodies to the mayor’s office and helped transport them to the site where men were digging graves, according to the eyewitness.
Despite local customs prohibiting women from burying the dead, she requested to help due to the high number of graves needed.
When the men refused, she gave her cart to neighbors still collecting bodies and waited to bury her three brothers.
“I stayed at the town hall watching people carrying bodies everywhere. It was horrible,” she declared.
Her oldest brother was buried first, following her insistence on a separate grave for him, while neighbors prepared graves for the other two brothers the following day.
“I am no longer sure that I am normal. You know why? Because I saw horrible things, dead bodies and blood everywhere. I have not been sleeping well since I was displaced here,” she added.
A civil society source in Kaya revealed that the military had surrounded the town where many survivors had fled, preventing them from leaving or discussing what happened.
The bloodshed underscores the risks associated with the authorities’ increasing dependence on civilians to combat jihadist groups that have destabilized West Africa’s Sahel region since the insurgency began in Mali in 2012.
A civilian organization, Collectif Justice pour Barsalogho, has criticized the government for its lack of response to the attack, which has been condemned globally by the United Nations and the European Union.
The group noted that a government delegation that visited the area focused more on the military than on the civilian survivors. They accused the army of sending civilians to their deaths by forcing them to dig trenches that later became mass graves.
“We regret that ministers can come all the way to Barsalogho and turn back without seeing the tears or hearing the cries of grief of this community,” the group stated on Wednesday. “Every single family is in mourning. The youth has been decimated.”
The escalating violence, which led to two coups in Burkina Faso in 2022, continues despite the new authorities’ efforts to address the situation.
Since the beginning of 2020, over 6,500 civilians have been killed, according to a July report by the non-governmental organization, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data.
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