According to Human Rights Watch: "Burkina Faso’s security forces allegedly executed 31 detainees on April 9, 2020 in the northern town of Djibo, Human Rights Watch said today. The men were apparently killed just hours after being arrested, unarmed, during a government counterterrorism operation. [...] Witnesses said that most of the security force personnel wore military uniforms with protective vests. Several were dressed in black or wore mixed military and civilian clothes. Many wore helmets while some covered their faces with turbans, and most had military assault rifles. Large machine guns were mounted on at least two vehicles. The soldiers spoke French and Mooré, one of Burkina Faso’s principle languages. Three people said they saw soldiers with walkie-talkies. The Burkina Faso government has three key security force camps in Djibo – a police station, a gendarme base, and a base housing the Groupement des Forces Anti-Terroristes (GFAT), a mixed counterterrorism force. Residents said they believed those implicated in the April 9 killings were based in the GFAT camp, in part because of the size of the operation, and because it is the only camp in which they’ve seen armored cars. Several told Human Rights Watch they had received calls from family members living close to the GFAT base before the arrests to report that a large convoy was leaving the base, and again around 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., when the convoy returned." ^[+]