Russia’s Africa Corps killed Mali civilians in air strike: HRW

Human Rights Watch released a report on Friday documenting allegations that Russian government-controlled paramilitaries killed eight civilians in a military air strike in central Mali. The incident occurred on June 15 in Kyrnia, a village in the Mopti region, according to the rights organization's investigation.

The report states that at least two munitions were dropped on the village by an aircraft identified by Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24. One strike targeted an area near the village chief's residence, resulting in multiple deaths including the chief's wife and two children. A second strike hit a small cattle market, killing four people and wounding two others.

Russia's Africa Corps, which has operated alongside Malian soldiers since 2021, claimed responsibility for the operation in a statement posted on social media on June 23. The organization said it had conducted an air strike against a gathering of terrorists and eliminated several field commanders, accompanying the statement with drone video footage.

Human Rights Watch contended that the targeting of civilians and those conducting business with armed groups constitutes unlawful indiscriminate attack, regardless of the presence of fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaat Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin in the area. The rights group called for Mali's military leadership to conduct impartial investigations into possible war crimes or face complicity in abuses.

The investigation involved remote interviews with 19 people, including witnesses and local journalists, along with analysis of satellite imagery and geolocation of video evidence. Mali has faced mounting reports of civilian casualties as Russian paramilitaries have expanded their military role in the country's conflict against multiple armed groups.