Africa: Russia's 'Africa Corps' Massacres Villagers
Human Rights Watch said the raid killed nine civilians, including four children, and followed counterinsurgency operations against alleged Islamist ties.
- On Thursday, Human Rights Watch reported that Africa Corps forces killed nine civilians, including four children, in Bombori, Mali during an operation last month.
- Following coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali's military junta consolidated ties with Russia, replacing the Wagner Group with the Africa Corps as Islamist armed groups have controlled Bombori since 2017.
- Witnesses reported more than 100 Africa Corps fighters stormed Bombori on July 10, rounding up at least 80 men and boys before executing three detainees and killing six civilians who attempted to flee.
- Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Malian authorities 'cannot evade legal responsibility' and must investigate abuses by the Africa Corps and hold perpetrators accountable.
- All parties to Mali's conflict must abide by international humanitarian law, yet Human Rights Watch received no response after sending findings to Russian and Malian defense ministers on August 4 and 5.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Human Rights Watch Says Russia's Africa Corps Killed Nine Villagers in Mali
A Human Rights Watch investigation published on 20 August accuses Russia's Africa Corps of killing nine civilians, four of them children, in a Mali village in July. The post Human Rights Watch Says Russia’s Africa Corps Killed Nine Villagers in Mali appeared first on The Rio Times.
Russian paramilitary fighters from the so-called African Corps supporting Mali in its fight against rebels killed nine civilians, including four children, during an operation last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.
HRW says Russian paramilitaries killed 9 civilians in Mali
The Sahel country has been wracked since 2012 by a serious security crisis, notably fuelled by violence from jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, along with criminal gangs and armed separatists.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses Russian African Corps fighters of killing nine civilians, including four minors, on 10 July in Bombori, Mopti region, central Mali. In a report published on Thursday, 20 August 2026, the NGO also documented beatings, looting and burning of houses during this operation, which was carried out alongside Malian soldiers.
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