The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement Monday that Mali’s armed forces and “apparently” the Wagner Group mercenaries “have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared several dozen civilians in Mali’s central region since December 2022.” Malian forces and the Wagner Group have also “destroyed and looted civilian property and allegedly tortured detainees in an army camp,” according to HRW.
The rights group said it has interviewed 40 people who know about the incidents, including witnesses of abuses, family members of victims, community leaders, Malian civil society activists, representatives of international organizations, and Sahel political analysts.
HRW said it has also “reviewed a video showing evidence of abuses by Malian soldiers and associated foreign forces.” People interviewed by the human rights organization said that the Malian armed forces committed the atrocities during military operations in response to the presence of Islamist armed groups.
Last month, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop urged the United Nations Security Council to withdraw the UN peacekeeping force in Mali or MINUSMA “without delay” due to a confidence crisis between Malian officials and the 15,000 members of the UN mission. The Security Council has decided to end MINUSMA’s presence in Mali, but its personnel will remain there until December 31 this year.
“The UN peacekeepers’ impending withdrawal makes it more crucial than ever for the Malian authorities to protect civilians and prevent further abuses during military operations,” said Carine Kaneza Nantulya, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should express their concerns about grave abuses by the Malian armed forces and allied apparent Wagner Group fighters and increase pressure on the Malian authorities to end these violations and hold those responsible to account.”
Human Rights Watch has previously documented serious abuses during counterinsurgency operations by the Malian security forces and allied fighters believed to be from the Wagner Group. The non-governmental organization (NGO) said Islamist armed groups have also committed numerous serious abuses, including unlawful killings, looting, and destruction of civilian property.
Mali is a landlocked country in the Central Sahel region, with nearly half of the highly dispersed population living in extreme poverty. The country ranks at the bottom of the Human Development Index (HDI). Since 2012, conflict, insecurity, and climatic shocks - including drought and seasonal floods - have generated displacement, food insecurity, and widespread humanitarian needs throughout Mali.
Since 2022, hostilities intensified across the country as the Malian armed forces conducted large-scale counterinsurgency operations against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the rival Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Both Islamist non-state armed groups have frequently attacked civilians.
ACLED reported that at least 5,750 people have been killed in over 1,740 incidents in all ten regions of the country between January 2022 and March 2023. The violence, which spilled over to other Sahel countries including Burkina Faso, has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis.
An estimated 8.8 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are 4.7 million children. Approximately 412,000 people are currently internally displaced in Mali. In addition, the Central Sahel state hosts more than 63,000 refugees, the majority of whom fled insecurity in neighboring countries.
Some 1.2 million people across Mali face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity during the June-August 2023 lean season, when food is most scarce.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international human rights organization that investigates and reports on abuses of human rights around the world. Human Rights Watch was founded in 1978 as “Helsinki Watch,” when it began investigating human rights violations in countries that signed the Helsinki Accords. HRW researchers currently work in the field in 100 some countries. The non-governmental organization (NGO) is headquartered in the United States.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project. ACLED collects information on the dates, actors, locations, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events around the world. Since 2014, ACLED operates as a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the United States. In 2022, the NGO expanded its coverage to 200 countries and territories around the world.
Further information
Full text: Mali: New Atrocities by Malian Army, Apparent Wagner Fighters, Human Rights Watch, report, released July 24, 2023
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/24/mali-new-atrocities-malian-army-apparent-wagner-fighters