By Ben Farmer
Mali and its Russian allies have killed and wounded scores of civilians in recent months as they attempt to beat back jihadist insurgents, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
The West African nation’s military junta and Africa Corps, a Russian Defence Ministry-controlled paramilitary force, have stepped up drone strikes in response to attacks by Islamist and separatist fighters.
The New York-based human rights organisation said it had found evidence of deadly indiscriminate air strikes, soldiers shooting civilians during patrols and torture.
Another conflict monitor, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), reported that between April and August 2026, Malian forces and Africa Corps carried out 49 air strikes, killing 89 civilians.
ACLED also reported that Malian armed forces killed 268 civilians during the same period.
Mali’s junta, led by General Assimi Goïta, has become increasingly reliant on Russian military support, initially from the Wagner Group and subsequently from Africa Corps.
The country has been wracked by insurgent violence and has faced heavy attacks from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the main al-Qaeda-linked jihadist coalition in the central Sahel.
In April, the country faced coordinated attacks from JNIM and Tuareg separatists of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), forcing Russian fighters to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal.
Kidal was recaptured in early October.
HRW accused the Malian armed forces and their allies of responding to mounting attacks “with abusive counterinsurgency operations” in central and northern Mali.
Its report found: “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.”
JNIM and the FLA were also accused of atrocities, including executing captured soldiers.
JNIM’s leadership has admitted that prisoners have been killed but claimed commanders had not ordered executions.
Mali’s junta has increasingly used air strikes by Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncı drones as part of its counterinsurgency operations.
Russia is also reported to have provided drones and fighter jets to Africa Corps personnel in Mali.
In one incident investigated by HRW on August 19, an apparent military drone struck a cattle market in the village of Tombonkore, killing six men and injuring at least 20 others.
Witnesses and survivors said there were no JNIM fighters present.
In a separate incident on July 12, Malian soldiers shot dead five girls aged between 10 and 13 who were harvesting rice in a field outside the town of Niono.
The soldiers later apologised and said they had mistakenly believed they were under attack.
Amnesty International said in October that it had documented killings and abuses by the Wagner Group in Mali and that these appeared to be continuing under Africa Corps.
Ousmane Diallo, Sahel researcher at Amnesty International, said: “Although Africa Corps has replaced Wagner, nothing has been done to change the situation. Impunity persists.
“To our knowledge, no legal proceedings have been initiated regarding the abuses committed by government forces against civilians since 2023.”
