GENEVA: The United Nations called Wednesday for an independent investigation into “mass killings” in Burkina Faso this month that left dozens of people dead, including children.
Burkina Faso’s state prosecutor said Monday that more than 70 people had been killed in an attack on November 5 in the town of Zaongo in the central-north of the country, and that most of them were children and elderly people.
The UN rights office said it was “following the alarming reports of mass killings” in the West African country.
“We call on the transitional authorities to carry out promptly a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into these serious reports,” spokeswoman Liz Throssell said in a statement.
She pointed out that while the authorities had confirmed at least 70 deaths, “some reports suggest that some 100 people may have been killed, and a large number injured.”
“This incident, during which a number of properties were burned down, is also reported to have led the villagers to flee the area,” she said.
The Save the Children aid group also called for an “immediate investigation” into the killings.
“This incident is a grave reminder that children bear the brunt of conflict and insecurity in Burkina Faso,” said Benoit Delsarte, Save the Children’s director in Burkina Faso.
“The perpetrators of these crimes against children must be held to account and brought to justice. Impunity for violations of children’s rights feed into the narrative that these crimes are acceptable,” he added in a statement.
The country is battling a jihadist insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015 and has left more than 17,000 civilians and soldiers dead and displaced two million people.
Burkina Faso is ruled by a transitional government put in place after a September 2022 coup.
“Our office in Burkina Faso is continuing to look into what happened but is at this stage unable to identify the perpetrators,” UN spokeswoman Throssell said.
She pointed out that it was “difficult to access the area for security reasons and talk to witnesses and survivors,” stressing the need for a probe to determine who was behind the killings.
“The perpetrators responsible must be brought to justice, in fair and transparent trials, and reparations must be provided to victims,” she added.
UN calls for investigation into Burkina Faso ‘mass killings’
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UN calls for investigation into Burkina Faso ‘mass killings’
- Burkina Faso is ruled by a transitional government put in place after a September 2022 coup
Venezuela to debate historic amnesty bill for political prisoners
- Venezuela could pass a landmark bill on Thursday granting amnesty to political prisoners, marking an early milestone in the transition from the rule of toppled leader Nicolas Maduro
CARACAS:Venezuela could pass a landmark bill on Thursday granting amnesty to political prisoners, marking an early milestone in the transition from the rule of toppled leader Nicolas Maduro.
The legislation, which covers charges used to lock up dissidents under Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression.
It was spearheaded by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Maduro after he was captured by US forces in Caracas last month and flown to New York to face trial.
Rodriguez took Maduro’s place with the consent of US President Donald Trump, provided she does Washington’s bidding on access to Venezuelan oil and expanding democratic freedoms.
She has already started releasing political prisoners ahead of the pending amnesty. More than 400 people have been released so far, according to rights group Foro Penal, but many more are still behind bars.
Rodriguez also ordered the closure of the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas, which has been denounced as a torture center by the opposition and activists.
Lawmakers voted last week in favor of the amnesty bill in the first of two debates.
The second debate on Thursday coincides with Youth Day in Venezuela, which is traditionally marked by protests.
Students from the Central University of Venezuela, one of the country’s largest schools and home to criticism of Chavismo, called for a rally on campus.
Venezuela’s ruling party also announced a march in the capital Caracas.
’We deserve peace’
Venezuela’s attorney general said Wednesday that the amnesty — which is meant to clear the rap sheets of hundreds of people jailed for challenging the Maduro regime — must apply to both opposition and government figures.
He urged the United States to release Maduro and his wife, both in detention in New York.
“We deserve peace, and everything should be debated through dialogue,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab told AFP in an interview.
Delcy Rodriguez’s brother Jorge Rodriguez, who presides over the National Assembly, said last week that the law’s approval would trigger the release of all political prisoners.
“Once this law is approved, they will all be released the very same day,” he told prisoners’ families outside the notorious Zona 7 detention center in Caracas.
’We are all afraid’
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was one of the detainees granted early release.
But he was re-arrested less than 12 hours later and put under house arrest.
Authorities accused him of violating his parole after calling for elections during a visit to Helicoide prison, where he joined a demonstration with the families of political prisoners.
Guanipa is a close ally of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was in hiding for over a year before she fled the country to travel to Oslo to receive the award.
“We are all afraid, but we have to keep fighting so we can speak and live in peace,” Guanipa’s son told reporters outside his home in Maracaibo.
