NAIROBI, Kenya 

At least 60 civilians were killed and scores of others injured in three Burkina Faso military drone strikes targeting crowded markets and a funeral between August and November 2023. 

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday said that the military drones while targeting rebels struck markets in Bouro and Boulkessi border towns and a funeral gathering in the Bidi area.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the attacks led to "the loss of numerous civilian lives in violation of the laws of war."

"The Burkinabè government should urgently and impartially investigate these apparent war crimes, hold those responsible to account, and provide adequate support for the victims and their families," she added.

The government in a statement had claimed that the attacks targeted terrorists.

Witnesses said that an Al-Qaeda-linked terror group controlled Bouro and surrounding areas.

"The market was full of civilians when the drone hit," a 25-year-old survivor from Bouro told HRW.

"People from all over the area come to the market to buy and sell animals. It was just chaos."

The Burkina Faso government has yet to issue an official response or comment on the report by the rights group.

Burkina Faso has been battling a violent insurgency linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS terrorist groups.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, often caught in the crossfire between warring factions.