WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is concerned about human rights in Burkina Faso and condemns the “violence committed by terrorist groups against civilians, military, and police” in the West African country, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
“The United States is concerned about the actions by Burkina Faso’s Transition Authorities, such as the growing use of targeted forced conscriptions, shrinking civic space, and restrictions on political parties,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
In January 2022, Burkina Faso’s army ousted President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain violence by Islamist militants. Coup leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba pledged to restore security, but attacks worsened, eroding morale in the armed forces that led to a second coup in September 2022 when current junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Ismail Shakil; editing by Christina Fincher)
