Burkina Must Probe Army Killings of Demonstrators Says Amnesty

Amnesty International on Thursday demanded a full inquiry into a bloody military crackdown on protestors whose uprising toppled Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaore.

Troops killed at least 10 people and wounded hundreds of others, according to the findings of an Amnesty report.

The official toll is of 24 dead -- including five prison inmates killed by their guards. At least 625 were injured, according to figures released by a panel set up by interim Prime Minister Isaac Zida.

The presidential guard, paramilitary police and the army all engaged in "excessive and often lethal use of force" in a bid to put down mass street protests between October 30 and November 2 last year, Amnesty said.

"Evidence suggests that little or no warning was given by the military before they opened fire on protestors, some of whom had their hands up and many of whom were shot in the back as they attempted to flee," the human rights watchdog added.

As the popular movement swept the capital Ouagadougou and other cities -- triggered in part by Compaore's bid to change the constitution to seek a further term in office -- the former army captain stepped down after 27 years in power.

One Burkinabe non-governmental organization cited by Amnesty came up with a death toll of 33 throughout the west African country.

Lieutenant-Colonel Zida briefly emerged as acting president after Compaore fled the poor, landlocked state. The senior officer was picked later to be government chief when a transitional regime was formed under a civilian president, Michel Kafando.

A "last-gasp attempt to crush legitimate protest and prop up the (Compaore) administration... resulted in the most violent repression by the military seen in Burkina Faso for decades," Amnesty said, adding that security forces used batons and ropes as well as guns, with children among their targets.

"As part of the process of turning over a new leaf in Burkina Faso's history, the transitional authorities must ensure these serious human rights abuses are independently and impartially investigated," said Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty's researcher for west Africa.

"All those suspected of killing and injuring protestors must be held to account," he added. "Urgent action must be taken to guarantee all victims and their families receive truth, justice and reparation."

As for the inmates who died in Ouagadougou central prison, three were shot in their cells during the upheaval on October 30, and two others were died from dehydration and suffocation when locked away for three days, the report said.