Burkina Faso government denies Human Rights Watch report alleging more than 1,800 killed since junta took power

Burkina Faso’s government has rejected a new Human Rights Watch report that alleges more than 1,800 civilians were killed in the country between January 2023 and August 2025.

HRW’s April 2 report says more than 1,200 of those deaths were attributed to government forces and allied militias. AP and Reuters coverage of the report said HRW accused both state-aligned forces and Islamist militants of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Burkinabe government has strongly denied the findings, describing them as false or unfounded in coverage published by multiple outlets. The dispute adds to the long-running conflict over how violence in the country is being documented and attributed.

The report has also renewed attention on the humanitarian toll of Burkina Faso’s counterinsurgency campaign. HRW says civilians have been caught between armed groups and state forces since the 2022 coup.

The government response came as the report continued to circulate across international and regional media, with officials pushing back on its methodology and conclusions. No separate official rebuttal with detailed evidence was included in the materials reviewed.

The core disagreement remains unresolved: HRW says the abuses are widespread and systematic, while Burkina Faso’s authorities say the report should not be trusted.