Mali’s ruling junta on Monday rejected as “unfounded” accusations by a rights group that its troopers and Russian mercenaries killed 40 civilians in three operations.
In Bamako, the overseas ministry mentioned the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report launched final week took a “sensationalist and biased method” and put the nation’s military “on the identical degree because the armed Islamist teams.”
The ministry listed “unfounded allegations, gratuitous affirmations, testimonials taken from a distance and slanted, inaccurate conclusions.”
It additionally once more denied working with Russia’s Wagner paramilitary firm, with out naming it.
HRW mentioned Islamist armed teams and Malian troopers killed not less than 175 civilians, lots of them kids, between April and September, condemning the focused killing of civilians as struggle crimes.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Assist Group for Islam and Muslims was chargeable for the deaths of not less than 135 civilians in two assaults, the New York-based HRW mentioned.
Malian troopers and fighters apparently from Wagner killed 40 civilians in three operations between April and September, it mentioned.
Bamako’s junta leaders struck up a partnership with Wagner after French troops pulled out of Mali in 2022.
The HRW report was based mostly on phone interviews with 40 folks carried out in August and September.
Underneath a army junta since 2020, Mali has been locked within the grip of jihadism and a deep multidimensional disaster since 2012.
“The Malian authorities has didn’t take sufficient measures to guard civilians in battle affected areas,” Human Rights Watch mentioned. “The focused killing of civilians by Islamist armed teams and the Malian military are struggle crimes that needs to be totally and impartially investigated.”
Human rights organizations and the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSMA [Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali] have on quite a few events accused the military of rights abuses.
“The Malian Armed Forces perform their position with strict respect for the rights of man and worldwide humanitarian legislation,” the ministry mentioned.
The authorities say they monitor respect for human rights and examine the place vital, however the outcomes are by no means made public.