Malian military utilises cluster bombs for the first time

Amid growing instability in Mali, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) and its Russian auxiliaries have utilised cluster bombs for the first time, according to RFI and agencies on May 20th.

Images seen by RFI indicate that Russian-made RBK-500-2.5 bombs and ShOAB-0.5 submunitions were used by FAMA in recent operations in northern Mali.

When detonated in the air, cluster bombs release numerous smaller bombs that pose a threat to civilian populations.

Under the Oslo Accords, which Mali ratified, cluster bombs have been prohibited since 2010; despite this ban, the munitions are still used in conflicts.

The CD-DPA alleged that FAMA and the Russian Africa Corps used cluster bombs on May 15th in the Timbuktu region’s Oubder and on May 17th in the Kidal region’s Tadjmart.

“This is the first time we’ve discovered these cluster bombs,” said Tilla Ag Zeini, the CD-DPA’s secretary general.

Zeini added, “[The bombs are] dangerous for civilians, it’s dangerous for children who might play with them, use them, or touch them, and it can be deadly.”

In a May 19th statement, the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) denounced the use of cluster bombs; it claimed to have “collected remnants of these unexploded munitions ” to preserve evidence.

FLA rebels launched coordinated attacks across northern Mali on April 25th; the attacks were perpetrated in partnership with the al-Qaeda affiliated JNIM.

The FLA recaptured Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, on April 25th; Malian authorities had previously regained control of Kidal in November 2023.

Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks; on April 28th, JNIM announced a renewed blockade on Bamako.

Since the April 25th attacks, FAMA and Russian auxiliaries have increased operations in northern and central Mali and conducted strikes in the Kidal region.

Additionally, strikes conducted between May 15th and 17th in Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal were designed to counter the JNIM and FLA offensive, which seized control of the Tessalit camps on May 1st.

Russian and Malian forces face repeated allegations of human rights abuses, including executions; Russian mercenaries have been implicated in beheadings and sexual violence.

Mali’s junta has increasingly relied on Russian mercenaries to maintain stability since seizing power in 2021.

The junta has struggled to contain the growing threat posed by jihadist insurgencies and Tuareg separatists, the latter of which receives Ukrainian funding and has waged war against Malian authorities since their latest uprising began in 2012.

Maghrebi contacted Mali’s Ministry of Defence for comment on the use of cluster bombs, but has not received a response at the time of publication.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org