Mali: Human Rights Watch condemns violence since April 25th
Militants from the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM entering Kidal on April 26th, 2026.
Amid growing internal strife, concerns about human rights violations in Mali have been raised once again, according to RFI and agencies on June 29th.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on June 29th condemning violence committed since the April 25th attacks by the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
The attacks killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and led the FLA to recapture Kidal, a northern Taureg stronghold that Malian authorities regained control of in 2023.
Although no official death toll from the April 25th attacks has been released, HRW estimates that clashes killed 12 and injured at least 25 civilians in Gao and Kidal.
Since April 25th, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) and the Russian Africa Corps have increased operations in northern and central Mali; HRW has investigated abuses committed by all parties.
Between May 6th and 21st, JNIM set over 40 civilian vehicles ablaze as part of a renewed blockade of Bamako, announced on April 28th.
HRW’s report condemned “violent counter-insurgency operations against Fulani communities in central Mali” by Malian and Russian forces.
Members of the Fulani community face persecution throughout the Sahel over alleged Islamist ties.
These operations killed 38 civilians, including 23 children, between May 14th and 17th; drone strikes in Guimbé on April 25th killed 12 children.
Cluster bombs were utilised by Malian and Russian forces between May 15th and 17th in the Timbuktu and Kidal regions, despite being prohibited under the 2010 Oslo Accords, which Mali ratified.
Under international law, “deliberate or indiscriminate attack against civilians” is prohibited, which HRW has reiterated in its June 29th report.
In April, three civil society organisations filed a lawsuit against the Wagner Group, which now operates under the Russian Africa Corps, implicating Russian and Malian forces in human rights abuses, including massacres of civilians.
Similarly, the CD-DPA’s annual report implicated FAMA and Russian auxiliaries in 374 deaths in northern and central Mali throughout 2025.
Mali’s military junta has increasingly relied on Russian mercenaries to maintain stability amid growing jihadist insurgencies and attacks by Tuareg separatists since seizing power in 2020.
In March 2024, HRW accused FAMA and Russian mercenaries of killing civilians in joint raids and drone strikes.
Maghrebi has contacted HRW for comment on the June 29th report, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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