Four political activists in Burkina Faso were kidnapped after speaking out against massacres of civilians allegedly linked to the country’s military and allied militias, their movement said on Sunday.
The activists, members of the political group Servir et Non Se Servir (SENS), were kidnapped on Saturday, just days after another member of their movement, journalist Idrissa Barry, was captured near the capital Ouagadougou. The latest abductions add to a growing number of disappearances of people critical of the military-led government.
Rising Abductions
SENS condemned the recent abductions, noting that two of the abducted activists were mothers. “They were taken to an unknown location,” the group said.
The movement had recently raised concerns about disturbing videos circulating on social media showing dozens of bloodied bodies believed to be civilians, including women, children and the elderly, some with their hands and feet tied. Another video showed armed men wearing T-shirts who they identified as members of a local self-defense militia, carrying bloody knives and assault rifles.
Government Denies Mass Killings
Authorities in Burkina Faso have denied allegations of mass killings by the military and its militias. The country has been grappling with increasing violence over the past decade, largely attributed to rebel groups spilling over from neighboring Mali and Niger.
In recent years, military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger promised to combat the insurgency, but the violence has continued. Since 2015, the conflict has claimed more than 26,000 lives, both civilian and military, according to conflict monitoring organization ACLED.
Concerns Over Human Rights Violations
Human rights groups have accused the Burkina Faso leadership of using kidnappings and enforced disappearances to silence critics. In February, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders reported that authorities were using “abductions, illegal detentions, enforced disappearances and torture” against dissenting voices.
As tensions rise, the latest abductions have raised further concerns about the safety of activists and journalists in Burkina Faso.