DAKAR, Senegal — A recent report from Human Rights Watch has accused Burkina Faso’s government of exposing its citizens to peril during a militant attack that occurred earlier this year.

In August, a militant group associated with al-Qaida launched an assault in central Burkina Faso, resulting in the deaths of over 100 villagers in one of the bloodiest incidents of violence in the conflict-ridden West African country.

According to the report, residents of the Barsalogho commune, located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Ouagadougou, were compelled by security forces to assist in digging trenches aimed at fortifying security posts and nearby villages. This forced labor occurred just prior to an attack from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), who opened fire on the unsuspecting villagers.

The JNIM acknowledged responsibility for the attack, asserting that their targets were militia members associated with the Burkina Faso government. However, Human Rights Watch conducted video analyses and gathered witness testimonies, confirming that at least 133 individuals lost their lives, including many children, and that around 200 more sustained injuries.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch focusing on the Sahel region, remarked that the massacre in Barsalogho represents yet another instance of violence against civilians by Islamist armed groups, exacerbated by government policies that place these individuals in unnecessary jeopardy.

Currently, about half of Burkina Faso operates outside governmental control, having been significantly affected by escalating militant activities that threaten the capital. Militant groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State have claimed thousands of lives and driven more than 2 million residents from their homes.

This turmoil has been a contributing factor to two coups in 2022. Despite the military regime’s commitment to curtail the violence by forming new security alliances, including with Russia and other nations in the conflict-ridden Sahel region, they have struggled to make significant progress.

Human Rights Watch criticized the government for its reliance on armed civilian groups known as Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) to combat militant activity. Allegrozzi pointed out that this strategy has made many civilians targets of jihadists, who view them as supporters or even members of the VDP.

Witnesses detailed in the report that male inhabitants of the area were coerced by the military into digging a new section of trench without any compensation. Many men were apprehensive about the risks of being targeted in retaliation and initially refused to comply. However, military personnel reportedly enforced their demands through threats and physical violence.

In response to the Human Rights Watch findings, Burkina Faso’s justice minister, Edasso Rodrigue Bayala, asserted that forced labor is illegal in the country and contended that allegations claiming military coercion of civilians to perform trench work are unsubstantiated.