Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on August 14 that the Russian-controlled Africa Corps paramilitary forces in Mali had 'executed' 9 civilians, including 4 children, just a month after the organization documented a Russian airstrike that killed many civilians.
According to HRW's statement, the incident occurred on July 10 in the village of Bombori, in Mali's central Mopti region. More than 100 Africa Corps fighters rounded up at least 80 men and boys in the village, then beat them in front of Malian soldiers while interrogating them about suspected ties to armed groups.
HRW cited witnesses as saying that 6 civilians were shot dead while trying to flee, and 3 others were detained and then executed. One of those detained was beheaded. The organization also accused dozens of people of being beaten and at least 8 houses of being set on fire during the incident.
'Mali's military government appears to have given Russia's Africa Corps forces free rein to kill civilians,' said Ilaria Allegrozzi, HRW's senior Sahel researcher. 'Mali's authorities cannot escape legal responsibility by letting Africa Corps commit atrocities. They need to promptly and objectively investigate these abuses and bring all those responsible, including Malian soldiers, to justice.'
HRW researchers interviewed witnesses about the incident between July 19 and 30. Local residents said the al-Qaeda-linked armed group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has controlled Bombori since 2017, but its fighters were not present in the village on the day of the massacre.
Mali has been mired in civil war since 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising in the north turned into armed campaigns. The military-led government is currently fighting multiple al-Qaeda- and ISIL (ISIS)-linked armed groups and has lost control of vast swaths of territory in recent years.
Relations between Bamako and Western countries, particularly France, the former colonial power, have deteriorated significantly after two military coups in Mali within 9 months, with the current government taking power in May 2021. Russia, through Africa Corps and previously the Wagner Group, is now Mali's main military partner in the fight against an unusual alliance of separatist and armed groups. In return, Moscow receives cash payments and access to the country's rich mineral resources, especially gold.
