Terrorists have proliferated in northeastern Mali since January 2023, perpetrating significant acts of violence, including “murders,” “rapes,” and “looting” against civilians. These atrocities have forced thousands of people to flee the affected regions, according to a statement by Human Rights Watch on Thursday.
The security situation has rapidly deteriorated due to clashes between two fanatical groups: the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM or JNIM). These groups, linked to Al-Qaeda, aim to control supply routes and expand their influence, as explained by the human rights organisation.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that armed terrorists are brutally attacking civilians and helping fuel a large-scale humanitarian emergency.
Between January and June, Human Rights Watch documented eight attacks, with six occurring in the Gao region and two in the Ménaka region in the northeast, which has been a target of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) for several months. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of “hundreds” of people and forced numerous individuals to flee the area.
The NGO has gathered testimonies from witnesses, describing the attackers as armed with “assault rifles” and “grenade launchers,” dressed in civilian clothing or military fatigues with distinctive turbans. Witnesses also reported that the assailants spoke various local languages (Tamashek, Fulfulde, Songhai, and Hausa), as well as Arabic, and sometimes carried the flag of the Islamic State.
The report also expressed concern about the decision to withdraw the United Nations peacekeeping mission (Minusma), which has been requested by Bamako and is scheduled to last for six months until the end of 2023. According to the report, this move risks undermining efforts to hold those responsible for conflict-related abuses accountable.
Ms. Allegrozzi called upon Malian authorities to intensify their efforts to protect civilians and to collaborate closely with their international partners.
The report also details “serious abuses” committed by Malian security forces and alleged forces of the Russian private security company Wagner, whose actions have faced criticism in various countries.
Since 2020, the junta in power has shifted its political and military alliances from France to Russia. The junta denies the presence of Wagner but acknowledges the deployment of Russian military instructors under the banner of state-to-state cooperation.
In May, the UN accused the Malian army and “foreign” fighters of executing at least 500 people during an anti-insurgent operation in the country’s central region in March 2022, an allegation refuted by the Malian junta.
Mali has been gripped by a severe security crisis since 2012, fueled by terrorists and separatist groups, as well as self-defense groups. Originating in the north, the crisis has spread to the country’s center and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.