Russian Africa Corps Airstrikes Kill Eight Civilians in Mali

A Russian government-controlled paramilitary group, Africa Corps, killed eight civilians, including three children, during airstrikes on the village of Kyrnia in Mali's Mopti region on June 15, 2026. A Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft dropped at least two munitions, with one strike hitting near the village chief's home and another striking a cattle market.

Africa Corps claimed on social media that the operation targeted a gathering place for terrorist groups. However, an investigation by Human Rights Watch found that while approximately 100 fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) were in the village at the time, they were gathered elsewhere and were not among the casualties.

Human Rights Watch characterized the strikes as unlawfully indiscriminate and called on the military-led government of Mali to conduct an impartial investigation. The organization warned that by failing to hold its Russian allies accountable, the Malian junta is complicit in war crimes and atrocities committed on its territory.