Mali: HRW accuses Russian paramilitaries of killing 8 civilians

Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps, which is supporting Mali in its fight against insurgents, killed eight civilians, including three children, in June airstrikes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Friday.

A Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kyrnia, in the Mopti region, on June 15, the rights group said in a statement.

“The first struck outside the village chief’s residence, killing two of his children, his wife, and another child, and injuring a woman,” the statement said.

“The second struck a small cattle market about twenty metres away, killing four men and injuring two others. No Islamist armed group fighters were known to be casualties,” it added.

Fighters from the Tuareg separatist FLA and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) have waged a series of attacks in recent months against Mali’s junta government and its Russian mercenary allies.

According to the NGO, no fighters from armed jihadist groups were among the victims.

“By handing the Russian authorities a blank check, the Malian government should be aware that it too is accountable for allied forces’ atrocities,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior HRW Sahel researcher, said in the statement.

Africa Corps claimed responsibility for the attack on Facebook, describing the target as a gathering place for terrorist groups.

The post included footage of strikes on a village.

Witnesses interviewed by HRW said that at least 100 fighters from JNIM, including a senior commander, were in the village at the time of the strikes.

Mali’s junta leaders had promised to restore calm in the vast nation, which has been grappling with a security crisis since 2012, but so far have mostly failed to deliver.

The ruling junta, which came to power in two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, has turned away from former colonial power France and moved closer to Russia, both militarily and politically.