Burkina Faso investigates alleged abuses by security forces

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government has opened investigations into allegations of human rights abuses by its security forces after a video surfaced that appeared to show the extrajudicial killing of seven children in the country’s north. A government spokesman said Thursday that “the conclusions of the said investigations will lead, if the facts are established, to legal proceedings against the persons responsible.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had called for an investigation into the video, which circulated in chat groups. The Associated Press this month published the findings from its own investigation. It determined that Burkina Faso’s security forces killed the children in a military base outside the town of Ouahigouya.