Mali: army investigates killing of civilians by its troops

Following allegations that some of its soldiers were involved in the killing of civilians, the Malian army has taken the unusual and unprecedented step of opening an investigation into the incident   

As reported by Al Jazeera on February 22, the accusations were first raised by the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, a Tuareg independence movement based in the country’s north.

According to the group, on February 17, a group of both Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group stopped two civilian vehicles.

The civilians were en-route to the eastern city of Gao, with some reports stating that one of the cars was full of migrants.  

After stopping the vehicles, the soldiers and mercenaries suddenly opened fire on the civilians, killing at least 24 people without any hesitation or apparent reason.

According to a family member of one of the deceased, “in the first car, everyone died, my cousin, too”.

Initially, the Malian army dismissed claims that such an incident had occurred, calling them part of many “intoxicating campaigns” against the military. However, they later reversed their decision and opened an investigation.

The incident comes amid nearly five years of military rule in Mali since the army seized power in a 2020 coup, overthrowing the democratically elected president.

The coup led to Mali’s diplomatic isolation from the West and its neighbours, forcing the regime to turn to groups like Wagner to maintain its grip on power.

While some hope the investigations will bring justice to the victims of this atrocity, the reality is that it is unlikely to do so.

According to Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at a Moroccan think tank, the investigation would likely attempt to disprove the allegations against the soldiers involved and find no wrongdoing. 

The likely ruling of the investigation would be that the allegations are “false” and no harm was done, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

This incident is just one of many in the region. In December 2024, Human Rights Watch publicly condemned the “atrocities” committed against civilians by the Malian armed forces.