Fassalé (Mauritania) (AFP) – Tears soaked Cherifa's veil as she recounted how her son was beheaded by a unit of Malian soldiers and Russian paramilitaries supporting the fight against jihadists.
Cherifa, who is in her sixties, was one of about 10 Malian refugees who spoke to AFP from neighbouring Mauritania about the brutal violence meted out against civilians.All the refugees' names have been changed for their safety."His death is my greatest pain," said Cherifa, her voice trembling, from inside a rough brick shelter.Last summer, her son left to sell goods in Mali but just a few kilometres across the border, he and four others ran into a joint patrol of Malian troops and paramilitaries from the Moscow-controlled Africa Corps. Herders hiding nearby later described what followed. "They tied them up and cut off their heads... they set fire to the goods they were carrying," Cherifa said.No one dared retrieve the bodies until the next day, fearing an ambush or hidden traps. 'Defenceless'Cherifa accused the army and Russian fighters of "pouring their hatred on innocent, defenceless people".
Many Malian civilians fear the Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the army © PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP
