Robbers died in shootouts, not executions - minister

Burkina Faso's security minister, Djibril Bassole, acknowledged on Monday that security forces killed scores of armed robbers in recent months, but said they did so in shootouts with well organised gangs. "To face the brutal upsurge in armed robbery the security forces have no option but to respond accordingly," Bassole said at a press conference.

"When you are confronted with organised gangs equipped with sophisticated weapons of war and communication tools you cannot but use adequate defence systems and force, especially when the people you are facing are not choirboys," Bassole added.

He was reacting to weekend allegations by the Burkina Faso Movement for Human and People's Rights, MBDHP, that 106 alleged robbers had been the victims of a campaign launched three months ago to combat an unprecedented increase in armed robberies. "Our reaction will be more brutal, if needed, to contain the scourge of gangsterism," he said.

The MBDHP (Mouvement Burkinabe des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples) had reported that the bodies of the 106 men were found between October and January in various parts of the country. It said they were riddled with bullets and left exposed to dogs and vultures. "This is disgusting and unacceptable for a country that is claiming to observe the rule of law," MBDHP Secretary-General Chrosogone Zougmore said in an interview.

Official figures for the number of armed robbers killed were not available, but Bassole said they could be higher or lower than the figures provided by the MBDHP.

Burkina Faso used to be considered peaceful but, six months ago, it started facing an upsurge of armed robbery by gangs operating with sophisticated weapons, including Kalachnikovs. Bassole said there had been 1,605 robbers in the last three months, in which 34 people were killed.

Reacting to the MBDHP report, the secretary of state for human rights, Monique Ilboudo, said she hoped the security forces' campaign would not be an "everlasting one" and that it was aimed at addressing the current situation. "Even one extrajudicial killing is enough and we are making sure that the campaign does not serve to violate citizens' rights," Ilboudo said at the press conference.

She said she would investigate the figures provided by the MBDHP to ascertain that the killings had resulted from shoutouts between security forces and armed robbers, as the security minister said.