An alarming new report from the United Nations. The number of civilians killed in Mali has more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, and 35% of human rights violations were attributed to the Defense and Security Forces (FDS), according to this document consulted on Wednesday by AFP.
In its quarterly report on human rights violations, the UN Mission in Mali (Minusma) indicates that 1,277 people were killed in 2022 in violence attributable to various actors, compared to 584 in 2021. An increase of 118% .
“Overall, 2,001 people have been affected by acts of violence in 2022 (1,277 killed, 372 kidnapped/missing and 352 injured),” the mission, created in 2013 to help stabilize the state of Mali, said.
The jihadists singled out
Jihadist groups are the main perpetrators of the violence – they committed 56% of recorded violations, according to the same source.
After two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the military in power in Mali pushed their French partner out in 2022 to turn to Russia – “instructors”, according to the junta, mercenaries of the group Wagner implicated in multiple abuses, according to different Western states.
“With regard to the Defense and Security Forces (FDS), 694 human rights violations, or 35% of the total number of violations, are attributable to their elements, sometimes accompanied by foreign military personnel”, indicated the Minusma.
These figures do not include the violations committed at the end of March 2022 in Moura where, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch, 300 civilians were massacred by Malian soldiers associated with foreign fighters, possibly Russians.
Multiple violence
The Malian army has denied, claiming the elimination of more than 200 jihadists. Tensions with the human rights division of Minusma rose sharply when the military came to power two years ago.
The junta openly blocks Minusma’s investigations into human rights and the abuses of which the Malian forces are regularly accused. In February, the head of the UN mission’s human rights division was expelled by the Bamako authorities.
Mali has been plagued since 2012 by the spread of jihadism and violence of all kinds. This vast, poor and landlocked country is plunged into a deep crisis, not only security, but also political and humanitarian.
The violence is carried out by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, self-proclaimed militias and various armed groups, but also regular forces and bandits.
With AFP