Karma Massacre: Message from the Women's Network for National Reconciliation, Cohesion, and Social Equity (REFERENCES)

On the morning of Thursday, April 20, 2023, a horrific tragedy occurred in Karma, in the municipality of Ouahigouya, Yatenga province, where dozens of Burkinabe were coldly shot dead. First and foremost, we would like to express our deepest sympathy to the entire Burkinabe people and the bereaved families, and we wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. We also offer our heartfelt thoughts to all the victims, both combatants and civilians, of the insecurity that has been ravaging our country for eight long years. May the soil of Burkina Faso lie lightly upon them.

This indiscriminate massacre, which spared neither women nor children, reflects the inhumanity of its perpetrators. This despicable tragedy comes amid a general climate in which hate speech and violent rhetoric have become commonplace, reaching a peak with calls for murder being spread across social media.

Human life is sacred. Any society that doubts or questions this creates the conditions for its own disintegration. We call on all the daughters and sons of Burkina Faso to unite around the human values that form the foundation of our coexistence.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms these despicable and barbaric acts perpetrated against defenseless populations.

We call on the authorities to be more vigilant in protecting populations, especially the most vulnerable, namely women and children.

We urge the authorities to put all their honor into the quest for truth about this tragedy by conducting an independent investigation.

We encourage the authorities to put reconciliation and social cohesion back at the top of the transition agenda in order to forge a sacred union of the daughters and sons of Burkina Faso in the face of the multidimensional crisis that threatens the very existence of our nation.