Published on : 01/09/2022 – 17:39Modified : 01/09/2022 – 17:42
The United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) published its quarterly report on human rights abuses on Wednesday, for the period from April 1 to June 30, 2022. Some 682 security incidents recorded in three months, 317 civilians killed and 73 kidnapped or missing. According to the UN report, jihadist terrorist groups are the main perpetrators. The Malian army and self-defense groups are also singled out.
Jihadist groups, namely the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group and the various components of Jnim, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, linked to al-Qaeda, are responsible for 64% of the victims between April and June 2022 The Malian armed forces by 26%.
The note of the Minusma returns to a series of events. As’Diallassagou attack, Mopti region. Attack carried out at the end of April by the Katiba Macina of the Jnim. The Malian army had reported 132 civilians killed. A figure that the Minusma does not confirm, “ no remains of a human body “having been found. UN investigators, on the other hand, report the kidnapping that day of 36 people, suspected by the jihadists of being traditional dozo hunters, who are fighting them.
►Also read: In Mali, the jihadist blockade of Boni finally lifted
In Ménaka, tens of thousands of displaced people fled attacks by the Islamic State group, which controls three-quarters of the region. The Minusma evokes “ Several dozens of civilians killed over the period. Some sources mention 300 to 700 deaths since March.
Few attacks in the Timbuktu region, but many villages there are, according to the UN note, subject to the diktat of the jihadists: obligation to pay zakat [une aumône inscrite dans le Coran, ndlr], prohibited parties, compulsory black veil, and corporal punishment in case of non-compliance. In total, in the country, jihadist groups killed 200 people between April and June 2022.
Reduced violence by the Malian army
With regard to the Malian army, the Minusma notes a “ significant drop violence, but still counts 96 civilians killed. “ Executions, acts of torture, mass arrests »… The investigators cite several military operations: in Boron in the Koulikouro region, in Zanankoro in the Ségou region, or even in Hombori in the Mopti region.
This last operation was carried out in April by Malian soldiers “ accompanied by foreign military personnel “, a way of designating the Russian auxiliaries of the Malian army. In Hombori, more than 50 civilians were killed and more than 500 arrested “, some of whom were then tortured and executed, according to the elements gathered by the Minusma.
The UN report also indicates that there is no news of certain people arrested by the Fama in the country and detained, for example, in the Alatona camp, Ségou region. The Malian army, in its press releases, systematically rejects the accusations of abuses against it, but ensures to open investigations for each case.
►Also read: In Mali, the transitional authorities block the Minusma investigation into the alleged Moura massacre