Russia’s Africa Corps accused of killing civilians in Mali airstrike, HRW says
Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps killed eight civilians, including three children, during an airstrike in central Mali last month, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), APA-style news based on Reuters.
HRW said the June 15 attack on the village of Kyrnia in Mali’s Mopti region was “unlawfully indiscriminate” and may have violated the laws of war.
According to the rights organization, a Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft allegedly dropped at least two munitions on the village. One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife, two of their children and another child. A second strike reportedly hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men.
HRW said it found no evidence that fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), which it says has controlled the village for the past six years, were killed in the attack.
Africa Corps, which is overseen by Russia’s Defence Ministry and has largely replaced the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa, said it carried out a strike on June 15 targeting a “gathering place of terrorist groups” in the Mopti region. HRW said it geolocated footage released by the group to Kyrnia.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the incident. Authorities in Russia and Mali did not immediately comment on the allegations.
Mali has relied increasingly on Russian military support in its fight against Islamist insurgents after ending military cooperation with France and expelling French forces from the country.
Human rights organizations and international bodies have repeatedly accused both Malian forces and their Russian allies of abuses during counterinsurgency operations. The United Nations and Amnesty International have also called for investigations into alleged war crimes committed by armed groups operating in Mali.
HRW urged Mali’s government to investigate the June 15 airstrikes and hold those responsible accountable, warning that the authorities also bear responsibility for alleged abuses committed by allied forces.
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