Bamako — A new Amnesty International report has documented at least 34 civilian killings across seven Malian localities between June 2023 and December 2025, attributing the acts to members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) operating alongside foreign fighters from the Wagner group.
The 200-page report, titled “No one is spared,” was published on 28 September 2026. It draws on research conducted in Mauritania with Malian refugees, including testimony from 119 people originating from the Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou regions. Amnesty says it cross-checked these accounts against other sources and analyzed information related to the military operations.
Civilian victims caught in military operations
The documented incidents occurred mainly in Mali’s central and northern regions — Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou — areas heavily affected by insecurity and armed group activity.
According to Amnesty International, some victims were killed as they tried to flee or after being detained. The organization also reports cases in which people were beheaded or burned. In Tin Adanda, in the Tombouctou region, four people were reportedly killed during a joint patrol in February 2025.
A key concern in the report is the targeting of pastoral populations, particularly Fulani, Arab and Tuareg communities. Amnesty estimates that many of the victims belonged to these groups, accused or suspected of links to armed groups because of their ethnicity or their presence in areas controlled or frequented by insurgents.
The organization warns against what it describes as a dangerous generalization: treating an entire community as synonymous with armed groups could expose civilians to collective reprisals.
Drone strikes at the center of the accusations
The report also examines two drone strikes carried out in 2025 by Malian forces in the Tombouctou region. Amnesty says they killed at least 23 people, including at least five children.
One of the most documented cases concerns the Ejdeir market, hit on 16 March 2025. According to Amnesty, 16 people were killed and seven others injured. The organization says it found no evidence establishing the presence of fighters or military objectives at the market at the time of the strike.
Malian authorities had stated they targeted “meetings of terrorists.” Amnesty says the geographic information provided by the authorities matches the location struck at Ejdeir. In the absence of a proven military target, the organization considers such an attack could constitute a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a possible war crime.
The issue is particularly sensitive in a conflict where Malian authorities present military operations as necessary to fight jihadist groups and other armed organizations. Amnesty’s report does not question, in principle, the authorities’ right to combat armed groups. It stresses, however, the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilian populations.
Torture allegations in military bases
Another grave section of the report concerns allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
Amnesty International says it interviewed 15 men who described being tortured during joint patrols or in military bases, notably in Léré and Nampala. The organization says their accounts were corroborated by witnesses who reported witnessing torture involving around 30 people.
The methods described are particularly violent: suspending detainees by their arms, simulated drowning, beatings with metal bars or sticks, and electric shocks. According to Amnesty, five people died in military bases as a result of torture or poor detention conditions.
The report states that the acts were mainly committed by Wagner members, sometimes in the presence of Malian soldiers. Some individuals were held for days or months without being brought before a court, receiving legal assistance, or contacting their families.
Wagner gone, Africa Corps remains
The report comes as Russia’s presence in Mali has evolved. The Wagner group, present in the country since late 2021, was replaced in June 2025 by Africa Corps, a structure under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Amnesty International is calling on Malian authorities to publicly clarify relations with Africa Corps and the control mechanisms applicable to its members. For the organization, the change in structure should not result in an absence of accountability when violations of international law are committed.
This shift occurs amid a deep transformation of Mali’s security policy. Since the 2020 coup, authorities have gradually strengthened military cooperation with Russia while reducing dependence on Western partners.
A crisis that goes beyond government forces
Amnesty International nonetheless stresses that the documented abuses cannot be attributed to one side alone. In recent years, armed groups active in Mali have also been accused of grave violations of international humanitarian law.
The organization notes that armed groups have committed unlawful killings, kidnappings and other abuses against civilian populations. This precision matters in a complex conflict involving multiple armed actors, where civilians often find themselves caught between different forces.
The humanitarian situation remains worrying. According to data presented by Amnesty in its Mali review, more than 2,036 schools were closed due to insecurity, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of access to education.
The question of impunity
Beyond the accusations themselves, the report raises a central question: that of justice.
Amnesty International says it submitted its findings to Malian authorities on 3 August 2026 and had received no response at the time of publication. The organization is calling on Bamako to open “effective and impartial” investigations into the alleged crimes and to prosecute those responsible, where evidence warrants, before courts that respect fair trial guarantees.
The judicial question takes on an additional dimension following Mali’s announced decision in June 2026 to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. According to Amnesty, this withdrawal does not end proceedings already covered by the ICC’s jurisdiction: the court would retain jurisdiction over crimes within its mandate committed during the legally applicable period.
In this context, Amnesty International’s report appears less as a simple inventory of abuses than as a warning about the risk of entrenched impunity.
The human cost behind the statistics
For civilians in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou, the challenge remains immediate: surviving a conflict where the distinction between combatants and civilians is often fragile. For Malian authorities, the accusations from Amnesty now constitute an additional file that must be answered — in the name of protecting populations, but also the credibility of institutions responsible for delivering justice.
Because behind the statistics — 34 documented deaths, dozens of detainees tortured, and dozens of other alleged victims — lies a reality harder to measure: displaced families, villages emptied of their inhabitants, and a population that continues to live between the threat of armed groups and the operations of security forces.
Amnesty’s report thus recalls a fundamental requirement of international law: the fight against armed groups does not exempt any party to the conflict from protecting civilians. In Mali, the battle against insecurity is therefore also being fought on another front — that of justice, accountability and the protection of populations.
