Mali: Mali Army and Russian Fighters Accused of Killing Dozens of Civilians

What the report says

Amnesty International says Mali’s armed forces and Russian Wagner Group personnel committed war crimes during joint operations between 2023 and 2025, including killings, torture, enforced disappearances and looting. The findings were published in a report titled "No One is Spared" and were carried by Radio France Internationale via AllAfrica. The alleged abuses are said to have occurred across several areas, including the central Ségou and Mopti regions and the northern Timbuktu region.

According to the report, at least 34 civilians were killed in seven locations between June 2023 and December 2025. Amnesty said none of those killed was directly taking part in hostilities, and that some were shot while fleeing or after arrest, while others were killed in particularly brutal ways. The organization also said two drone strikes in Timbuktu region killed at least 23 civilians, including five children. In one case, a market in Ejdeir was hit in March 2025; in another, civilians were reportedly killed in Tangatta in November 2025.

Amnesty also documented allegations of torture and ill-treatment at military bases and during patrols, based on interviews with detainees and witnesses. The report says people were held without access to lawyers, judges or family members for periods that sometimes lasted months. It added that many victims came from Fulani, Arab and Tuareg pastoral communities, which have faced suspicion in areas affected by fighting.

The report comes as Mali relies increasingly on Russian security backing after coups in 2020 and 2021 and as Wagner’s formal presence ended in June 2025. Amnesty said abuses have continued, and that accountability remains difficult for civilians who fear reprisals and for investigators working amid shrinking international legal pathways.