The Burkina Faso military has announced the initiation of an investigation following the circulation of a disturbing video that allegedly shows individuals in military uniforms mutilating a corpse. The army’s statement reveals that specialized services have been engaged to verify the video’s authenticity and ensure accountability for any wrongdoers involved.
The video, an 81-second clip that surfaced on the social media platform X in late July 2024, depicts at least 18 men wearing identifiable army uniforms. Among them, two individuals are visibly using knives to disembowel a decapitated body. Human Rights Watch, having reviewed the footage, suggests the involvement of members from Rapid Intervention Battalion 15, a special unit known for its role in counterinsurgency operations against Islamist armed groups. Consequently, Human Rights Watch has urged an impartial investigation, emphasizing the prevalent lack of accountability within the army.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces has made it clear that the acts depicted in the video starkly contravene the ethical values instilled in the National Armed Forces and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland. Both international and national legal frameworks underscore the seriousness of such acts. Rule 113 of Customary International Humanitarian Law explicitly prohibits the mutilation of dead bodies. Further, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the mutilation of corpses in armed conflict as a war crime. The United Nations Human Rights Council has echoed these sentiments, advocating for the protection and respectful treatment of deceased individuals, highlighting their dignity, and citing cultural, religious, and privacy rights as supplementary obligations.
This incident mirrors a recent case in Mali, where the army chief of the Malian Armed Forces ordered an investigation into a similar viral video. Burkina Faso and Mali, both neighbors, continue to face increased violence stemming from confrontations between Islamist groups and the military, leading to numerous civilian attacks, as detailed in the Human Rights Watch World Report.