Bamako — A new human rights investigation into Mali’s long-running conflict paints a deeply troubling picture of what happens when the line between counterinsurgency and civilian harm collapses. The report, released on 28 September 2026, accuses members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), operating alongside foreign fighters from the Wagner group, of committing war crimes against civilians between 2023 and 2025.

What the report found — and why it matters now

Titled “No one is spared,” the investigation draws heavily on research conducted in Mauritania among Malian refugees. Investigators say they collected testimony from 119 people originating from the Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou regions. The organisation says it cross-checked these accounts against other sources and analysed information related to military operations.

The findings are stark: at least 34 civilians are believed to have been killed in seven Malian localities between June 2023 and December 2025 during operations attributed to Malian forces and their Wagner allies. The report also documents cases of torture, forced disappearance, looting and the destruction of civilian property.

Civilians caught in the crossfire of military operations

The documented incidents are concentrated in Mali’s central and northern regions — Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou — areas long scarred by insecurity and armed group activity.

According to the investigation, some victims were killed as they tried to flee or after being arrested. The report also describes cases where people were allegedly slit at the throat or burned. In Tin Adanda, in the Tombouctou region, four people were reportedly killed during a joint patrol in February 2025.

One of the report’s central concerns involves pastoral communities, particularly Peul, Arab and Tuareg groups. Many of the victims are said to have belonged to these communities, accused or suspected of ties to armed groups simply because of their ethnicity or their presence in areas controlled or frequented by insurgents.

The organisation warns against what it sees as a dangerous generalisation: treating an entire community as synonymous with armed groups could expose civilian populations to collective reprisals.

Drone strikes at the heart of the allegations

The report also examines two drone strikes carried out in 2025 by Malian forces in the Tombouctou region. According to the investigation, these strikes killed at least 23 people, including at least five children.

One of the most documented cases concerns the Ejdeir market, struck on 16 March 2025. The report states that 16 people were killed and seven others wounded. Investigators say they found no evidence establishing the presence of fighters or military objectives at the market at the time of the strike.

Malian authorities had stated they were targeting “meetings of terrorists.” The investigation notes that the geographical information provided by the authorities corresponds to the location struck at Ejdeir. In the absence of a verified military target, such an attack could constitute a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a possible war crime, the report argues.

This question is especially sensitive in a conflict where Malian authorities present military operations as necessary to fight jihadist groups and other armed organisations. The report does not challenge, in principle, the authorities’ right to fight armed groups. It insists, however, on the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilian populations.

Torture allegations inside military bases

Another particularly grave section of the report concerns allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.

The organisation says it interviewed 15 men who claimed to have suffered torture during joint patrols or in military bases located notably in Léré and Nampala. Their accounts were corroborated by witnesses who said they had observed torture involving around thirty people, according to the report.

The methods described are particularly violent: suspending detainees by their arms, simulated drowning, beatings with metal bars or sticks and electric shocks. According to the investigation, five people died in military bases as a result of torture or poor detention conditions.

The report states that these acts were mainly committed by Wagner members, sometimes in the presence of Malian soldiers. Some individuals were reportedly held for days or even months without being brought before a court, without access to legal assistance or contact with their families.

Wagner has left, but Africa Corps remains

The report comes as Russia’s presence in Mali has evolved. The Wagner group, present in the country since late 2021, was replaced in June 2025 by Africa Corps, a structure placed under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

The organisation is calling on Malian authorities to publicly clarify their relationship with Africa Corps and the oversight mechanisms applicable to its members. For the organisation, a change in structure must not translate into an absence of accountability when violations of international law are committed.

This development comes amid a profound transformation of Mali’s security policy. Since the 2020 coup, authorities have gradually strengthened military cooperation with Russia while reducing dependence on Western partners.

A crisis that goes beyond government forces

The report nevertheless emphasises that the documented abuses cannot be attributed to a single side. In recent years, armed groups active in Mali have also been accused of serious violations of international humanitarian law.

The organisation recalls that armed groups have committed unlawful killings, kidnappings and other abuses against civilian populations. This nuance matters in a complex conflict involving multiple armed actors, where civilians often find themselves caught between different forces.

The humanitarian situation remains deeply concerning. According to data presented in the report’s Mali assessment, more than 2,036 schools were closed because of insecurity, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of access to education.

The question of impunity

Beyond the accusations themselves, the report raises a central question: that of justice.

The organisation says it transmitted its findings to Malian authorities on 3 August 2026 and indicates it had not received a response at the time of publication. It calls on Bamako to open “effective and impartial” investigations into the alleged crimes and to prosecute those responsible, where evidence warrants, before courts that respect fair trial guarantees.

The judicial question takes on an additional dimension following Mali’s announced decision in June 2026 to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. According to the organisation, this withdrawal does not end proceedings already covered by the ICC’s jurisdiction: the court would retain jurisdiction over crimes within its mandate committed during the legally applicable period.

In this context, the report appears less as a simple inventory of abuses than as a warning about the risk of entrenched impunity.

For civilian populations in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou, the challenge remains immediate: surviving a conflict where the distinction between combatants and civilians remains fragile. For Malian authorities, the accusations now constitute an additional file that must be answered — in the name of protecting populations but also of the credibility of institutions responsible for delivering justice.

Because behind the statistics — 34 documented deaths, dozens of detainees tortured and dozens of other alleged victims — lies a reality harder to measure: that of displaced families, villages emptied of their inhabitants and a population that continues to live between the threat of armed groups and the operations of security forces.

The report thus recalls a fundamental requirement of international law: the fight against armed groups does not exempt any party to the conflict from protecting civilians. In Mali, the battle against insecurity is therefore also being fought on another terrain — that of justice, accountability and the protection of populations.

By Boureima Amadou — Reporter