Human Rights Watch Reports Civilian Deaths in Mali Offensive
Human Rights Watch reports that Mali's military and Russian-led Africa Corps killed scores of civilians during a ramped-up counterinsurgency offensive.
The Armed Forces of Mali and the Russian-controlled Africa Corps have killed and wounded scores of civilians through indiscriminate drone strikes and other abuses during a ramped-up offensive against insurgents. A Human Rights Watch report released Monday states that civilian casualties from drone strikes more than doubled between April and August compared to the previous year, with data recording 94 civilian deaths from 47 strikes.
Documented atrocities include a strike on a cattle market in Tombonkore that killed six civilians, the partial destruction of a health center in Talahandak, and the killing of five girls in Niono. The report also notes that Dozo militia killed three ethnic Fulani civilians in Djenné. These operations followed April 25 attacks by separatists and al Qaeda affiliates that killed Mali's defense minister and targeted the main airport in Bamako.
Simultaneously, insurgent forces committed war crimes, including the torture and execution of at least 19 Malian soldiers following a July 18 ambush in Tabrichat. The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims acknowledged the killings occurred but denied ordering them. The Azawad Liberation Front rejected allegations of executions, suggesting instead that Malian drone strikes killed the prisoners. Human Rights Watch has called on the African Union Peace and Security Council to investigate these atrocities and press for accountability from all parties.
