Since January, the testimonies of victims of abuses by the Malian army and its Russian auxiliaries have been piling up on the desks of journalists, human rights defenders and activists, without the extent of the disaster being quantifiable. From now on, the figures of the Minusma give a more precise idea of the explosion of violence which Mali undergoes since the beginning of the year.
Between January 1 and March 31, 2022, the number of people killed in Mali jumped by 324%. Violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law have increased by 151%, analyzes the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) in its quarterly note. Made public Monday, May 30, this fifteen-page report details the security events and those responsible.
If half of the abuses are committed by jihadist groups, the Malian armed forces (Fama) play a leading role in the exponential increase in extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, cases of torture and arbitrary arrests. According to UN investigators, the Fama are responsible for 320 human rights violations, an increase of 932% compared to the previous quarter, when the Russian mercenaries did not yet accompany the Malian soldiers.
« Summary Executions »
In total, 812 civilians (543 killed, 107 kidnapped or disappeared, 107 injured and 55 illegally detained) were targeted by acts of violence during the first three months of the year. Malian security and defense forces killed 248 civilians, including 18 women and 6 children. « The majority of the victims of these violations were members of the Fulani community »says the note.
Based on the methodology of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in terms of « collection of evidence and information » as well as on numerous testimonies, the Minusma noted more than a dozen incidents involving the Malian army. These took place largely in the center of the country, during the vast operation Kélétigui, targeting jihadist groups.
An operation which has already made itself known to the public during the attack on the village of Moura. According to the Minusma, this mission, which caused the death of 200 to 500 people, is marred by multiple “information and allegations” targeting the Malian security forces who, “accompanied by foreign military personnel, allegedly carried out summary executions and multiple other human rights violations”.
Russian-Malian partnership
These events are now the subject of a UN investigation. But the note specifies that despite a request for access to the village, made on April 1, the Malian authorities have so far not authorized the Minusma to go there.
This note also comes to contradict the official speech of Bamako which, since the beginning of the year, does not cease hammering the « rise in power » of the Malian army. Despite the intensification of military operations, the security situation has deteriorated throughout the territory. In the east, fighting between signatory groups and IS jihadists has left hundreds dead and thousands displaced. Central Mali continues to « dealing with a multidimensional crisis ».
In the north, in Timbuktu, there is a “strengthening the presence of Jnim», a group linked to Al-Qaeda. Cases of kidnappings are increasing in the Ménaka region and 52 Mauritanian civilians have been murdered in the border area, triggering the ire of Nouakchott. In the center, many incidents bear the mark of this new Russian-Malian partnership.
« Provision of security services »
If the report never names the Russian paramilitary company Wagner – the editors preferring to talk about « foreign military personnel » – Guillaume Ngefa, the director of the human rights and protection division at Minusma, specifies that this is « current partner forces of the Malian army ». However, since the beginning of the year, following the announcement of the French withdrawal and the suspension of European training missions, the Russians are the only military partners of the Malians.
According to the transitional authorities, at the head of the country since the August 2020 coup, it would only be a question of« instructors », supplied under a defense agreement with Moscow. A version contested even by the Russian authorities. On May 1, Sergei Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, affirmed in an interview on Italian television that “Wagner is in contract with the Malian government for the provision of security services”. These mercenaries would today be a thousand in the country.
While the Malian authorities have assured that they have « opened several investigations into serious violations of international law and human rights »the Minusma indicates that on the date of publication of this note, it has not received “no information on the progress made in these aforementioned investigations« .
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