All warring parties in Mali committed 'grave abuses' against civilians, report says

All parties involved in Mali's conflict – including Islamic militants, the Malian armed forces and their allies – have committed serious abuses against civilians, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday.

The report documents that JNIM fighters killed civilians and burned their vehicles. Meanwhile, the Malian army and its allies, during counterinsurgency operations against Fulani communities, killed 38 civilians, including 23 children. The army also carried out two apparent drone strikes that killed 10 adults and 12 children and teenagers.

“As fighting flares up again, the warring parties in Mali are once again carrying out grave abuses against civilians, repeating former patterns of harming civilians,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW. “Longstanding impunity continues to fuel the cycle of abuses.”

Mali has been plagued for over a decade by militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, including JNIM, as well as a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north. In April, JNIM and Tuareg separatists carried out the largest coordinated attack in over a decade, targeting the Bamako airport, nearby Kati, and several northern and central cities. Mali's defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, was killed in a car-bomb attack on his home.

According to the Associated Press, thousands of Malians have fled to Mauritania in recent months as fighting intensified. Refugees described indiscriminate killings, beheadings, abductions and sexual abuse by Africa Corps, the Russian military unit working with the Malian army.

HRW said the Malian military authorities did not respond to a letter sent by the group. The separatist Azawad Liberation Front stated that it had taken sufficient measures to protect civilians, while JNIM said civilians violating its rules are punished according to Sharia law.