Wed 21 October 2026:
Rights group urges African Union to act amid rising laws-of-war violations and increased air strikes
Mali’s military forces and their Russian paramilitary allies have killed civilians in violation of international law, while opposition armed groups have committed similar abuses, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Soldiers and fighters “are committing grave laws-of-war violations while international organisations and governments largely stand by”, the United States-based rights watchdog said in a report released on Monday. It called on the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to “urgently take action to prevent further atrocities” in Mali.
The West African nation has faced persistent fighting and attacks since 2012, as the military and its partners confront an array of armed groups, including Tuareg separatists and criminal gangs. The military government that seized power in successive coups in 2020 and 2021 has turned to Russia for support, initially relying on Wagner Group fighters before they transitioned into the state-controlled Africa Corps in 2025.
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‘Scores of civilians’ killed
HRW based its findings on interviews with 30 people—including witnesses, human rights defenders, community leaders, journalists and a Malian soldier—conducted between late July and mid-September.
“Mali’s military and the allied Russia-controlled Africa Corps … have killed and wounded scores of civilians in attacks and in custody in violation of international humanitarian law,” HRW said. Armed groups “have also violated the laws-of-war, including torturing and executing captured Malian soldiers”, it added.
The organisation documented two “apparently indiscriminate” drone attacks by the Malian military. A July 29 strike in the Kidal region of northeastern Mali damaged part of a health facility, while an August 19 attack hit a market in the central Bandiagara region, killing six civilians and wounding at least 20.
HRW also detailed an operation against armed groups in the southern Segou region in which Malian soldiers shot and killed five girls, and another in the central Mopti region where members of the military-allied Dozo militia killed three civilians, “all with impunity”.
Fighters ‘execute’ soldiers
The report further cited a July 18 attack on a military convoy in the Gao region by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and allied separatist fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front. It said the two groups “tortured and executed at least 19 Malian troops” they had taken prisoner.
JNIM acknowledged that prisoners were killed but denied ordering the deaths, according to HRW. The Azawad Liberation Front acknowledged fighting with the army and Russian forces in the northeastern region that day but denied executing soldiers.
Drawing on data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, HRW noted 49 air strikes by Malian forces and the Africa Corps from April to August that killed 89 civilians—“more than double the 22 strikes and 44 civilian deaths reported during the same period last year”.
HRW said it sent a letter to Mali’s defence minister on August 5 outlining its findings and questions but received no response.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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