DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Civilians in Mali suffered serious abuses carried out by Islamic militants and the Malian armed forces and their allies during attacks across the West African country earlier this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.The report documented the killings of civilians and burning of civilian vehicles by JNIM fighters, as well as abusive counterinsurgency operations against Fulani communities from the Malian army and its allies, which led to killings of 38 civilians, including 23 children. It also said the Mali’s military carried out two apparent drone strikes which killed 10 adults and 12 children and teenagers.“As fighting flares up again, the warring parties in Mali are once again carrying out grave abuses against civilians, repeating former patterns of harming civilians,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Longstanding impunity continues to fuel the cycle of abuses.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed 30 witnesses, verified and geolocated videos and photographs posted on social media, and analyzed satellite imagery.Mali has been plagued for over a decade by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, including JNIM, as well as a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north.
