Mali army and allied militias accused of civilian massacres in segou region

Civilian massacres in Mali’s Ségou region linked to army and allied militias

Bamako — The Malian army, alongside allied militias, stands accused of executing at least 31 civilians and torching homes during coordinated raids on two villages in the central Ségou region earlier this month. The attacks, carried out on October 2 and 13, targeted Kamona and Balle—villages under the de facto control of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist faction.

The two-day rampage left a trail of devastation: 21 men were killed in Kamona on October 2, followed by nine men and one woman in Balle on October 13. Survivors and community leaders describe a pattern of targeted executions, home burnings, and livestock thefts, with soldiers and allied dozos—traditional hunters turned counterinsurgency auxiliaries—accusing residents of collaborating with armed groups.

Mass executions and systematic destruction

Witnesses in Kamona recount how soldiers arrived in a convoy of seven pickup trucks and three armored vehicles, accompanied by dozos on motorcycles. After local GSIM fighters warned of the army’s advance, many fled, but those who remained were rounded up and shot.