Burkina Faso’s government has denied a Human Rights Watch report that alleged its soldiers massacred 223 villagers, including 56 children, in February. Speaking on Saturday, the West African country’s Communications Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, tagged HRW’s report as “baseless accusations.” According to him, the killings resulted in the opening of a legal inquiry that is still ongoing. He expressed surprise that HRW has been able to reach a conclusion given this reality. Ouedraogo’s statement came a few days after a ban was placed on the BBC and Voice of America radio networks as retaliation for airing the HRW report.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA