The Russian mercenary group known as Wagner is helping government forces in central and northern Mali carry out raids and drone strikes that have killed dozens of civilians, including many children, community groups said. advocacy in reports released this week that cover the period from December to March.
THE Malijust like its neighbors Burkina Faso and the Nigerhas been fighting for more than a decade against an insurgency led by jihadist groupssome of which are allied to Al-Qaeda and at Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three countries in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance.
Violence has intensified in Mali since the arrival of Russian mercenaries following a Rebellion in 2021. The ruling junta has intensified its operations, carrying out deadly drone strikes that hit civilian gatherings, and raids accompanied by Russian mercenaries that killed civilians.
Residents of the Sahel region that includes Mali say the presence of the Russia does not seem to have changed since Wagner’s conductor, Yevgeny Prigozhindied in a suspicious plane crash last year.
“Mali’s transitional military government, supported by Russia, is not only committing horrific abuses, but is working to eliminate scrutiny of its human rights record”declared Thursday Ilaria Allegrozzi, principal researcher on the Sahel at Human Rights Watch.
In one example of a raid by Russian-backed government forces in January, Human Rights Watch said the army entered a village near a military base in central Mali and arrested 25 people, including four children. Their bodies were found later that day, blindfolded and with gunshot wounds to the head, according to the report.
Amnesty International indicated in a separate report released earlier this week that two drone strikes in northern Mali had killed at least 13 civilians, including seven children aged 2 to 17. A pregnant woman injured in the bombing suffered a miscarriage days after the attack.
Human Rights Watch said drones provided by the Türkiye in Mali can drop precise laser-guided bombs. The organization has also documented how drone strikes have killed civilians. For example, a drone strike in the Ségou region of central Mali killed at least seven people at a wedding, including two boys. The next day, a second drone strike targeted a funeral held for those killed in the previous day’s strike.
The ruling juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced earlier this month the creation of a joint security force to combat worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region. The announcement follows moves by the juntas to distance themselves from other regional and Western nations that disagree with their approach and to rely on Russia for security.
Although the military has promised to end insurgencies in its territories after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say violence has instead worsened under their regimes. The two countries share common borders and their security forces tasked with combating jihadist violence are overwhelmed.
