Eyewitnesses and local community leaders said hundreds of men had gathered and been killed in small groups during the March 23 anti-jihad operation in the central city of Moura. The rural town of about 10,000 people is located in the Mopti area, a hotspot of jihadist activity that has intensified and spread to neighboring countries in the Sahel region. Local security sources told HRW that more than 100 Russian-speaking men were reportedly involved in the operation, which HRW described as the worst atrocity reported in a decade-long armed conflict in Mali. Witnesses spoke of white soldiers speaking an unknown foreign language they believed to be Russian. The Mali army has long been accused of human rights abuses during anti-insurgency operations. A Mali military spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. “Abuses by armed Islamist groups do not justify the deliberate slaughter of people detained by the military,” said Corinne Dufka, Sahel’s director at Human Rights Watch. “The Mali government is responsible for this atrocity, the worst in Mali in a decade, whether it was carried out by Mali forces or by allied foreign troops.” Following reports of alleged atrocities in Moura, the Mali army said last week that it had killed 203 Islamist fighters between March 23 and 31 and arrested 51 others following reports of clashes between rebel groups. He added that he would investigate any allegations of rights violations. Horrifying testimonies of alleged abuses by Mali forces and suspected Russian mercenaries have emerged from the city. On March 27, witnesses said Mali soldiers arrived by helicopter near Moura’s animal market and exchanged fire with jihadists. Helicopters blocked the exits from the area as traders and civilians tried to escape. Witnesses said soldiers were patrolling the city, executing several unarmed men trying to escape and holding hundreds of others. Witnesses said groups of up to 10 men each time, most of the Fulani ethnic group (also known as Peuhl), were killed. A trader said he was drinking tea with his two brothers while waiting for the market to start when he heard gunshots. “Seven Russians approached, gesturing for us to get up. There were no soldiers from Mali with them. “They searched us and the house and then took us east of the village, near the river, where we found another 100 men,” he told HRW. “Another group of Russians showed my brothers and another man. I thought they were going for questioning. “They took them several meters away and executed them, in the end.” Mali, a poor country of nearly 21 million people, is ruled by a junta that seized power in a coup in August 2020, promising to restore political sovereignty. The country is being sanctioned by the West African Ecowas bloc for ignoring an earlier commitment to hold elections in February this year. Mali groups are out of government control due to a violent jihadist clash that began in 2012 and spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. The German Foreign Ministry has urged Mali to conduct an independent inquiry into reports of civilian deaths. “The Mali General Staff did not mention any civilian casualties in its operation report,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This contradicts possible statements by witnesses who report targeted killings of civilians.” There has been a sharp rise in the killing of civilians and suspected terrorists in Mali since late December, both by al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups and Islamic State, as well as by Mali security forces. HRW said at least 107 civilians had been killed and that 71 of the deaths might be linked to forces aligned with Mali. Mali’s military leadership has forged closer ties with Russia following the deterioration of its relations with the West – especially with France, its former ally and colonial-era ruler, which has pledged to reduce its forces in the Sahel. The Mali government is fighting the uprising with the help of private military contractors from the Russian Wagner group. Mali and Russia have previously said they are not mercenaries, but trainers helping local troops with equipment they bought from Russia. Wagner, which was founded in 2014 to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, is said to be funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful businessman closely linked to Vladimir Putin, who has faced Western sanctions. Prigogine and Moscow have denied any of Wagner’s knowledge and, officially, private military companies are illegal in Russia. On paper the company does not exist, without a company registration, tax returns or organization chart.
