HRW: Mali Army and Armed Groups Behind Numerous Civilian Killings
Theo Al Jazeera
Human Rights Watch says Mali's army and Russia-controlled Africa Corps killed and wounded dozens of civilians in attacks and in custody, and that armed groups tortured and executed captured Malian soldiers. The report, based on 30 interviews, also documents apparently indiscriminate drone strikes and calls on the African Union to act.
In a report published on October 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Mali's army and Russia-controlled paramilitary forces of killing civilians and violating international humanitarian law, and said rival armed groups have committed similar abuses.
According to HRW, soldiers and gunmen are "committing serious violations of the laws of war while international organizations and governments mostly look on." The US-based group called on the African Union's Peace and Security Council to "act urgently to prevent further massacres" in Mali.
The West African country has been mired in conflict and attacks since 2012, when the army and its allies fought multiple armed groups, including Tuareg separatist rebels and criminal gangs. The military government that took power in Mali after successive coups in 2020 and 2021 turned to Russia for support, initially through the Wagner force and later through the state-controlled Africa Corps paramilitary group from 2025.
Dozens of civilians killed
HRW said the report was based on interviews with 30 people, including witnesses, human rights defenders, community leaders, journalists and a Malian soldier, conducted between late July and mid-September.
According to the organization, the Malian army and Africa Corps "killed and wounded dozens of civilians in attacks and in custody, in violation of international humanitarian law." Armed groups also "violated the laws of war, including by torturing and executing captured Malian soldiers."
HRW said it documented two drone strikes by the Malian army that "appeared to be indiscriminate." One on July 29 in the Kidal region of northeastern Mali partly destroyed a health facility; the second on August 19 targeted a market area in the central Bandiagara region, killing six civilians and wounding at least 20.
The report also documented a campaign against armed groups in the southern Segou region, where Malian soldiers shot dead five girls, and another incident in the central Mopti region, where Dozo militia allied with the army killed three civilians, "all with impunity."
Insurgents execute soldiers
HRW also cited an attack on a military convoy in the Gao region on July 18 carried out by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) together with separatist gunmen from the Azawad Liberation Front. According to the report, the two groups "tortured and executed at least 19 Malian soldiers" taken captive.
JNIM acknowledged that the prisoners were killed in the incident but denied ordering it, while the Azawad Liberation Front acknowledged fighting the army and Russian forces in the northeast that day but denied executing soldiers, according to HRW.
The report also cited data from the nongovernmental organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, showing that between April and August there were 49 airstrikes by Malian and Africa Corps forces that killed 89 civilians, "more than double the 22 airstrikes and 44 civilian deaths recorded in the same period last year."
HRW said it sent a letter to Mali's defense minister on August 5 outlining its findings and questions but received no response.
