Burkina Faso’s military rulers are abusing an emergency army recruitment drive to “punish” judges and prosecutors investigating their supporters by conscripting them against jihadist rebels, Human Rights Watch has said.
Between August 9 and 12, Burkinabe security forces notified by telephone at least seven magistrates of their conscription in anti-jihadist security operations in the northern Sanmatenga province from August 14 to November 13, HRW said in a statement on Wednesday.
On August 14, six magistrates reported to a military base in the capital Ouagadougou to respond to their notifications and “have not been heard of since”, HRW added, citing two judicial sources.
The main union for judges and prosecutors had last week warned of the possibility of such conscription, describing “acts of humiliation and intimidation”.
“The authorities should immediately revoke these bogus conscription notices,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW.
In April 2023, junta chief Captain Ibrahim Traore signed a general mobilisation decree to battle the jihadist insurgency that has left more than 20,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands since 2015.
Figures considered hostile to the military authorities have also been reported kidnapped this year in Ouagadougou and elsewhere in the West African nation.
