(../../../../favicon_aje.ico) Mali’s military and armed groups committing abuses against civilians: HRW | Conflict News | Al Jazeera    (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/19/malis-military-and-armed-groups-committing-abuses-against-civilians-hrw)                                               (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/10/19/malis-military-and-armed-groups-committing-abuses-against-civilians-hrw)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26211621126904-1792389654.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)  (../../../../wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26211621126904-1792389654.jpg@resize=770,513&quality=80)     (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (../../../../static/css/vendor~main~d08ff9cb.24bf1742.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~748942c6.6cd3b839.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~b07b7304.e3bc53a0.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~6e6dca10.b9196be1.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~d92ce3db.c3cbd92c.r2.chunk.css) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Bold.52bb58c8.woff2) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Regular.c5bf51b6.woff2)  (../../../../static/css/vendor~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-blo~5f903362.2e08e417.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~41c72a2c.6aa6af66.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~06be7c11.0625e98d.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/pages/article-page~493df0b3.93e3f65b.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)   Skip links (malis-military-and-armed-groups-committing-abuses-against-civilians-hrw@traffic_source=rss.html#main-content-area) Skip to Content  (https://www.aljazeera.com/)          (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Sign up  Show navigation menu     Navigation menu (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News    Show more news sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/) Middle East   (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/) Africa   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/) Asia   (https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/) US & Canada   (https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/) Latin America   (https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/) Europe   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/) Asia Pacific      (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/) Explained   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports) Sport   (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/) Opinion   (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/) Video   (https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/) Interactives   More   Show more sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeera-originals) Originals   (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/) Features   (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/) Economy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/) Human Rights   (https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis) Climate Crisis   (https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/) Investigations   (https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/) In Pictures   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/) Science & Technology   (https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts) Podcasts   (https://www.aljazeera.com/travel) Travel   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored/) Sponsored Content        (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Click here to search search     Sign up        (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News |(https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/conflict/) Conflict   Mali’s military and armed groups committing abuses against civilians: HRW Soldiers, fighters and separatists in West African country committing grave laws-of-war violations, rights group finds.   Listen   Listen (4 mins)       Save       Share Mali’s military and armed groups committing abuses against civilians: HRW on social media share-nodes    Share (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fd7nga2) facebook      (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Mali%E2%80%99s%20military%20and%20armed%20groups%20committing%20abuses%20against%20civilians%3A%20HRW&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fd7nga2) x    (whatsapp://send?text=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fd7nga2) whatsapp-stroke    (https://aje.news/d7nga2)  copylink          google       Add Al Jazeera on Google  info      (Mali 1)   Soldiers wait for the start of the funeral for former Defence Minister Sadio Camara at the Military Engineering Parade Ground in Bamako, Mali [File: Boubacary Bocoum/AP]   (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458)     By  (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458) Al Jazeera Staff and AFP   Published On 19 Oct 2026 19 Oct 2026    Mali’s military and its Russian paramilitary allies have killed civilians in breach of international law, and opposition armed groups have done likewise, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. Soldiers and fighters “are committing grave laws-of-war violations while international organisations and governments largely stand by”, the United States-based rights watchdog said in a (https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/10/19/mali-military-attacks-on-civilians-insurgent-abuses) report released on Monday. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/namibia-battles-cattle-disease-outbreak-as-eu-suspends-several-meat-imports) Namibia battles cattle disease outbreak as EU suspends several meat imports  list 2 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/15/from-morocco-to-south-africa-israel-election-watched-closely-across-africa) From Morocco to South Africa, Israel election watched closely across Africa  list 3 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/16/kenya-reports-third-bundibugyo-strain-ebola-case) Kenya records third Ebola case, linked to first patient who died   end of list  It urged the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to “urgently take action to prevent further atrocities” in Mali. The West African country has been mired in (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/tuareg-rebels-withdraw-from-strategic-town-of-kidal-in-northern-mali) fighting and attacks since 2012 as the military and its allies have battled an array of armed groups, including Tuareg separatists, and criminal gangs. The military government that has ruled Mali since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 has turned to Russia for support, enlisting the services initially of fighters from the private Wagner Group, which became the state-controlled paramilitary group Africa Corps in 2025. ‘Scores of civilians’ killed The rights group said its report was based on interviews with 30 people – witnesses, human rights defenders, community leaders, journalists and a Malian soldier – conducted from late July to mid-September. “Mali’s military and the allied Russia-controlled Africa Corps … have killed and wounded scores of civilians in attacks and in custody in violation of international humanitarian law,” HRW said. Armed groups “have also violated the laws-of-war, including torturing and executing captured Malian soldiers”, it added. Advertisement    HRW said it documented two “apparently indiscriminate” drone attacks by the Malian military. According to the report, a July 29 attack in the Kidal region of northeastern Mali destroyed part of a health facility, and a second on August 19 hit a market in the central region of Bandiagara, killing six civilians and wounding at least 20. HRW said it also documented an operation against armed groups in the Segou region in the south, where Malian soldiers shot and killed five girls, and another in the central region of Mopti, where members of the military-allied Dozo militia killed three civilians, “all with impunity”. (Fighters from the separatist Azawad Liberation Front patrol the streets of Kidal, Mali)  Fighters from the separatist Azawad Liberation Front patrol the streets of Kidal, Mali [FIle: AFP]  Fighters ‘execute’ soldiers HRW also cited an attack on a military convoy in the Gao region on July 18 by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and allied separatist fighters in the Azawad Liberation Front. It said the two groups “tortured and executed at least 19 Malian troops” they had taken prisoner. The JNIM acknowledged that prisoners were killed in the event but denied having ordered the deaths, HRW said. The Azawad Liberation Front, HRW added, acknowledged fighting with the army and Russian forces in the northeastern region on the day but denied executing soldiers. The HRW report also drew on research by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a nongovernmentsl group that gathers conflict data from around the world. It said its data show 49 air strikes by Malian forces and the Africa Corps from April to August that killed 89 civilians, “more than double the 22 strikes and 44 civilian deaths reported during the same period last year”. HRW said it sent a letter to Mali’s defence minister on August 5 with its findings and questions but received no response.            aj-logo             aj-logo             aj-logo       Advertisement          About About   Show more  (https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us) About Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/) Code of Ethics   (https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/) Terms and Conditions   (https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/) EU/EEA Regulatory Notice   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/) Privacy Policy   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/) Cookie Policy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Cookie Preferences    (https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/) Accessibility Statement   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap) Sitemap   (https://careers.aljazeera.net/) Work for us      Connect Connect   Show more  (https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6) Contact Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help) User Accounts Help   (https://commercial.aljazeera.net/) Advertise with us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected) Stay Connected   (https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters) Newsletters   (https://sat.aljazeera.net/en) Channel Finder   (https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/) TV Schedule   (https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/) Podcasts   (https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/) Submit a Tip   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored) Paid Partner Content      Our Channels Our Channels   Show more  (http://aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Arabic   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Al Jazeera English   (https://www.ajiunit.com/) Al Jazeera Investigative Unit   (https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/) Al Jazeera Mubasher   (http://doc.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Documentary   (http://balkans.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Balkans   (http://ajplus.net/) AJ+      Our Network Our Network   Show more  (http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/) Al Jazeera Centre for Studies   (http://training.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Media Institute   (http://learning.aljazeera.net/) Learn Arabic   (http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en) Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights   (http://forum.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Forum   (https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en) Al Jazeera Hotel Partners        Follow Al Jazeera English: (https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera) facebook       (https://twitter.com/ajenglish) twitter     (https://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish) youtube     (https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/?hl=en) instagram-colored-outline                          (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml) rss     (https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com) bluesky     (https://www.tiktok.com/@aljazeeraenglish) tiktok-colored-outline                  (Al Jazeera Media Network logo)   © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network