At least 40 civilians were killed in a militant attack in the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo, the UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday.
Burkina has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of violence perpetrated by rebels affiliated with the Daesh group and Al Qaeda, which are also hitting neighbouring Mali and Niger.
The UN agency said attacks on civilians were “inexcusable and must stop” with those behind them apprehended and judged at a fair and independent trial.
It added that deliberate targeting of civilians constituted a “war crime”.
Djibo, near the border area straddling Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, has been besieged by militant groups active in the region for months.
Several convoys seeking to resupply the town have been attacked.
Burkinabé security force sources told AFP that militants had carried out a massive attack Sunday on an army post at Djibo and that the army had killed dozens of attackers.
The sources added soldiers had been killed but did not mention civilian casualties.
A security source told AFP the Djibo army post had been the “target of a sizeable jihadist attack perpetrated by armed terrorist groups”, adding an unspecified number of soldiers “paid the supreme sacrifice to hold Djibo”.
The source added the army had inflicted “heavy losses on the enemy”.