Burkina Faso’s army and allied volunteer militias “tortured and massacred” civilians in a revenge attack in the west of the country this week, an NGO official and a local source told AFP on Thursday.

“Whole families of Fulani shepherds were killed in the bushes of Solenzo, in the Bema and Ban areas,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity, giving a toll of “several dozen deaths”.

Primarily nomadic herders, the Fulani people are often stigmatised across the wider Sahel, accused of collaborating with the jihadists who stalk the region and providing the bulk of their recruits.

Since Wednesday, videos of dozens of bloodied bodies strewn across the ground, with no apparent sign of life and hands and feet bound, have spread across social media. Most of the victims appear to be women, children or elderly.

The Group will also propose strategies to mainstream AI in elections, peace, and governance processes, leverage AI for reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction, and develop new approaches to address emerging challenges.