International News
Survivors Of Burkina Village Massacre Recount Hours-Long Nightmare
Survivors of a massacre in northern Burkina Faso have described an hours-long ordeal in which men in army uniforms carried out brutal and arbitrary killings, including women who were carrying their babies on their backs.
The bloodbath unfolded on April 20 in the village of Karma, a part of the country that has been badly hit by jihadists, but it was only officially disclosed on Sunday.
Regional prosecutor Lamine Kabore told AFP “about 60 people” were killed by assailants dressed in army uniforms.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, survivors and local residents said more than 100 died, in a massacre that lasted hours.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, meanwhile said in a press release that according to reports “at least 150 civilians” may have been killed.
The survivors said that at around 7:30 am last Thursday, the village of some 400 people was surrounded by a “large number of men in uniform,” arriving on motorbikes, pickup trucks, armoured vehicles “and a tank”.
Some villagers went out to welcome them, happy to see that “these soldiers” had arrived, but the mood swiftly turned to terror as the killings began, the statement said.
“Several people were shot down where they stood without any form of process… women, children and the elderly,” it said.
People who tried to hide were ordered to come out, as assailants smashed down doors and set fire to storage buildings
“Wounded people who tried to flee were pursued and killed… and some women were executed as they were carrying their babies on their back,” the survivors
The killing lasted until around 2:00 pm when the soldiers moved off in a column towards Dinguiri, a village lying to the north of Karma, they said.
The community said the dead were still lying in the open as of Tuesday. They had tried to go to the village to bury the bodies on Monday morning, but the army had blocked off the road.
The massacre occurred a week after 34 defence volunteers and six soldiers were killed by suspected jihadists at Aorema, a village about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Karma.
Following that attack, Burkina Faso’s military junta declared a “general mobilisation” to give the state “all necessary means” to combat a string of bloody attacks blamed on jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
UN call
Kabore said he was investigating the killings and had given instructions for anyone involved to be detained.
Shamdasani called for a fast and rigorous inquiry.
“This investigation must be prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial and must result in credible prosecutions if such gross violations are to end,” she said.
Karma lies in a gold-rich area that has drawn an influx of illegal miners, close to the border with Mali — the epicentre of an 11-year-old jihadist insurgency that has rocked the fragile Sahel.
Burkina Faso has been hit especially hard, and its poorly-equipped military has been battered by a ruthless, mobile foe.
The violence has left more than 10,000 people dead, according to non-governmental aid groups, and displaced two million people from their homes.
Anger within the military at the mounting toll sparked two coups in 2022, the most recent of which was in September.
The latest strongman, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has declared a goal of recapturing 40 percent of the country’s territory which is controlled by jihadists.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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