Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned “atrocities” committed against civilians by Mali’s army, the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, and Islamist militants since UN peacekeepers were forced to withdraw from the Sahel country last December.
According to a report published by the rights group on Thursday (12 December), the Malian army, with Wagner’s active support, has since May “deliberately killed at least 32 civilians”, forcibly disappeared four others, and burned at least 100 homes in the north and center of the country. HRW also accused the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM) of having “summarily executed at least 47 civilians and displaced thousands of people since June”. Mali’s ruling junta forced the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) to withdraw its around 15,000 soldiers and police a year ago amid deteriorating relations and as the conflict-torn country battles jihadist and separatist violence.
The NGO added that the actual number of civilians deaths presented in its latest report could be underestimated by hundreds due to difficulties conducting research in central and northern Mali. According to senior Sahel researcher at HRW, Ilaria Allegrozzi, since MINUSMA ended its 10-year mission last December, “it has been extremely difficult to get comprehensive information on abuses, and we are deeply concerned that the situation is even worse than reported.” The rights group said it had sent its findings to the Bamako government but received no response.