Governments in the Sahel “have created a monster” by allowing militias to arm and multiply, says a UN official
The army has made no serious attempt to disarm these militias, said Human Rights Watch, a watchdog, in December. Instead, the government has helped them. Some army units patrol with them. They have been exempted from a ban on motorbikes in central Mali. This allows the militias to attack with ease. Emboldened by the government’s inaction, militiamen hacked and burned to death more than 170 people in Ogossagou, central Mali, in March.
. They started out as vigilante groups that beat or killed alleged criminals. But many now demand money from villagers and torture those who do not pay.groups, most with at least 20 men, mainly from the majority Mossi ethnic group. They are being sucked into conflict with the Fulani. In Januaryfighters massacred some 210 mostly Fulani people in Yirgou in northern Burkina Faso. Instead of arresting the attackers, the government told the victims to forgive them.
The government’s shameful reaction partly reflects its weakness. But there may be a darker motive. Many members of the government are Mossi, and may think it useful to have an ethnic militia on hand before elections next year.official in the Sahel. Having let this demon out of the box, they will struggle to put it back.section of the print edition under the headline
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