Mali’s armed forces, with support from Russian mercenaries, have been accused of serious human rights abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in late 2023.
According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Thursday, Malian forces and the Wagner Group killed at least 32 civilians, seven of whom died in a drone strike, kidnapped four others, and burned over 100 homes in central and northern Mali since May 2024.
The report also implicates Islamist insurgent groups in the region, accusing them of executing at least 47 civilians, displacing thousands, and destroying homes and livelihoods. Thousands of homes were set ablaze, and livestock, crucial for the survival of nomadic communities, was looted.
“These attacks by Mali’s army, the Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups blatantly violate the laws of war,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW.
Mali, alongside neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has been battling a jihadi insurgency for over a decade. Military coups in all three nations in recent years have resulted in the expulsion of French forces and a pivot to Russian mercenaries for security support.
Wagner Group, active in Mali since 2021, replaced French troops and international peacekeepers but has been accused of participating in operations targeting civilians.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, ended in December 2023 at the government’s request, citing its ineffectiveness against the insurgency. Since then, monitoring human rights violations has become increasingly challenging.
“Without MINUSMA, tracking abuses has become incredibly difficult, and we fear the actual scale of violations may be far worse,” Allegrozzi warned.
