ABIDJAN, March 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Burkina Faso court has opened an investigation into social media posts calling for the "extermination" of the Fulani people, an ethnic group regularly stigmatised in the Sahel.

Videos of massacres of Fulani civilians last week in the Solenzo area in the country's west provoked anger but also hate messages, after the violence was pinned on the army and allied militias who denied any role.

Ouagadougou high court public prosecutor Blaise Bazie said in a statement late Thursday that authorities were probing individuals publishing or sharing calls "for the extermination of people belonging to an ethnic group" on Facebook.

He said some social media users were posting "on the grounds that these people are the terrorists who are causing grief" in the country.

Although the prosecutor did not name the ethnic group targeted, most of the posts concerned the Fulani community.

Primarily nomadic herders, the Fulani people are often stigmatised across the wider Sahel, accused of collaborating with jihadist groups and providing the bulk of their recruits.

"Investigations are underway with a view to arresting the perpetrators in the coming days," said Bazie.

"These messages, which are speeches inciting scenes of violence, constitute serious threats to peace and social cohesion," he said, adding the authors risked prison sentences.

Burkina Faso has been caught in a spiral of jihadist violence since 2015, which has left more than 26,000 dead, half of them since a military coup in 2022, according to Acled, which records victims of conflicts around the world.