UN flags extrajudicial deaths in West Africa

Almost 150 people were extrajudicially killed by Malian and Burkinabe security forces in Mali between April and June, the UN has noted. The quarterly report also flagged 50 extrajudicial killings in late May by Burkina Faso troops in the village of Boulkessi and border settlements. It said the army targeted numerous terrorist elements in central Mali, as well as ‘reprisal operations’. A 2012 revolt in northern Mali has since spread to the centre of the poor Sahel country, as well as to Burkina Faso and Niger, despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops. A report on the News24 site notes that Malian authorities said they would investigate the matter.