Twelve suspected IS militants who was apprehended on suspicion of terror related crimes have been found dead in their police cells in Burkina Faso.
According to reports from Fada N’Gourma town prosecutor, twenty five people was arrested on terror related offenses and detained overnight on Monday, and “unfortunately, twelve of them have died during the course of the night in the cells they were being held in”.
The cause of deaths currently could not be ascertained but Security source whose name could not be revealed told journalists that the cause of the deaths may have been asphyxiation .An investigation has been launched.
This is not the first time such deaths were seen in Burkina Faso, in July 2019, 11 suspected drug traffickers were found dead in a cell belonging to the national police’s drugs squad.
Similarly, a local human rights organisation said a Fula teacher accused of having terrorist associations was found dead in a police station in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on 2 May.
It comes less than a month after Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it believed Burkina Faso security forces had executed 31 unarmed men in the northern town of Djibo, a few hours after arresting them in a counter-terror operation.
Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa has become the latest battle ground for al-Qaeda/Islamic State groups and more than 300 civilians have been killed by militants, according to HRW, while the government has killed several hundred for allegedly supporting them.
