Human Rights Watch has accused armed groups operating in Mali, including the country’s national army, of committing atrocities against the civilian population. In its latest report on the situation in the West African nation, the rights group said the army has “deliberately” killed more than 30 civilians and burned at least 100 homes in the north and centre of the country.
The report also highlighted abuses committed by Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist groups and noted that the number of deaths could be underestimated “by hundreds” due to difficulty in getting information from some parts of the country.
Since May 2024, Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group have deliberately killed at least 32 civilians, including 7 in a drone strike, forcibly disappeared 4 others, and burned at least 100 homes in military operations in towns and villages in central and northern Mali. Two Islamist armed groups, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) and of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), have summarily executed at least 47 civilians and displaced thousands of people since June. The JNIM has also burned over 1,000 homes and looted thousands of livestock. Human Rights Watch received credible reports of hundreds more civilians killed, but due to the difficulties of conducting research in central and northern Mali, the numbers in this report are conservative.
“The Malian army with the Wagner Group and Islamist armed groups have been targeting civilians and their property in violation of the laws of war,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Since MINUSMA left Mali a year ago, 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 UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) completed its withdrawal from the country on December 31, 2023, at the request of Malian authorities, heightening concerns about the protection of civilians and the monitoring and reporting of abuses by all sides.
Between July and October 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 47 witnesses and 11 other informed sources about abuses by the Malian army, Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery showing burned homes in several villages and verified and geolocated photos and videos posted on social media or sent directly to Human Rights Watch. On October 15, Human Rights Watch wrote to Mali’s justice and defense ministers, providing its findings and related questions, but has not received replies.
Human Rights Watch documented a Malian military drone strike in the town of Tinzaouaten, Kidal region, in August, that killed seven civilians, including five children. “My son was wounded in the head, one eye was torn apart, and he lost a lot of blood,” said the father of a 14-year-old boy. “Next to him were other dead and injured kids. I put my son on my shoulders and begged a motorcyclist to take me to the hospital, but he died on the way.” Human Rights Watch previously documented two indiscriminate drone strikes by the Malian army in central Mali in February that killed at least 14 civilians as well as other serious abuses by the Malian security forces and allied Wagner forces and by the Islamist armed groups.
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The JNIM has burned homes and looted livestock in Bandiagara region since June. JNIM fighters attacked several villages in the Doucombo and Pignari Bana district areas, setting over 1,000 homes on fire, stealing at least 3,500 animals, and forcing thousands of residents to flee, according to witnesses. Residents said the attacks were in apparent retaliation against communities that the JNIM accused of collaborating with the Dan Na Ambassagou militia, an umbrella organization of self-defense groups created in 2016 “to protect the Dogon country.” The militia provided security in many villages of the area.
“The JNIM said women must cover themselves from head to toe,” said a 50-year-old man from Danibombo 1 village. “We said ‘No,’ and the JNIM started beating our women. So many joined or supported Dan Na Ambassagou. This has made our villages [the JNIM’s] target.”
Human Rights Watch also documented an ISGS attack in August against a displaced peoples’ camp in Ménaka city, Ménaka region, that killed seven civilians. “They started shooting at us,” said a 42-year-old man. “I hid inside a tent. I could feel the bullets flying over my head.”
On April 4, the UN Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali for one year. While this is an important step to maintain an international human rights monitoring presence in the country, the Independent Expert does not have the resources to gather in-depth reports, which are critical for accountability.
The Malian government has primary responsibility under international law for ensuring justice for serious crimes, but successive governments have made scant progress investigating, much less prosecuting, those responsible for the grave offenses since the armed conflict began in 2012.
All parties to Mali’s armed conflict – the national armed forces, the Wagner Group and other allied militias, and Islamist armed groups – are bound by international humanitarian law, notably Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary laws of war. Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent – that is, intentionally or recklessly – may be prosecuted for war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. Mali is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Mali since 2012.
“Malian authorities’ failure to hold members of the security forces, the Wagner Group, and other armed groups to account for grave abuses has eased the way for further atrocities,” Allegrozzi said. “The government should work closely with the UN Independent Expert to promptly investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for grave abuses.”
Source: allAfricanews.com
