Eyewitnesses and human rights organizations have monitored what they call “widespread violations” committed by the Russian armed “Wagner” group once morest the local population in northern Mali, instead of focusing on its mission, which the authorities summoned for it, which is to fight the terrorist organization ISIS.
The ruling military council in Mali summoned the “Wagner” group, which specializes in training and supplying mercenaries to combat and conflict areas, at the end of 2021, to help the army fight ISIS, and the “Victory of Islam and Muslims” organization affiliated with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, especially following a dispute between the council and French forces led for her departure from the country.
dead in the markets
According to what eyewitnesses told Sky News Arabia regarding what they described as “Wagner” crimes in the central region of Mopti and the western region of Timbuktu and its environs once morest the local population:
- On April 10, an Arab trader from the “Awlad Ghannam” tribe named “Hami Ould Lazine” was killed in a weekly market in Mopti state, following a member of “Wagner” shot him dead, and seized his money.
- On April 11, they raided the Enktfa market in a village belonging to Timbuktu at peak time, and killed 6 market-goers, one of whom was an old sheikh from the “Klintaser” tribe, another black Tuareg seller, and 4 Arab merchants from the Barabiche tribe.
- They seized what they were able to transport from the merchants’ goods and headed with them to their station in the village of Boni, which was repeated on Thursday, April 13th, in the weekly market of Vivia in Timbuktu.
- At dawn on the same day, unknown gunmen attacked the security center of the area. As a result, two people, a policeman and a driver of Ghanaian nationality, were killed, and 3 people were injured.
Mass arrests
For its part, the international human rights organization “Imohag” (non-governmental) monitored what it said were widespread arrests carried out by “Wagner” and the Malian forces in the Azawad region.
- Among those arrested was Mohamed Ag Hamida, and his father, Hamida Ag Ghimara, the leader of the “Imidagen 2” community, the mayor of Gossi, without reason, she said, on March 25.
- The head of the Imdagne Tribal Council issued a statement denouncing the arbitrary detention of the Imdagne 2 community chief as well as his son.
- On March 5, Sidi Mohamed Ag Eltahir, the second deputy mayor of Harborough, and 15 people with him were arrested.
In turn, Human Rights Watch said that it had documented the killing of at least 700 people in incidents involving “Wagner” mercenaries, most of them in the central regions of Mali.
“Mission Failed”
Gauthier Basket, an analyst specializing in the Sahel and West Africa file, comments that: “Wagner did nothing to protect civilians from terrorism, but rather focused on protecting the capital and the military council, controlling wealth, and committing crimes once morest the local population.”
Baskett accuses the Russian group of being “part of the main threat to the local population”.
Independent human rights advocates appointed by the United Nations demanded that the international organization conduct an “independent and immediate” investigation into suspected “war crimes and crimes once morest humanity” committed by government forces and the “Wagner” group.
ISIS expansion
Another danger facing millions is ISIS, and according to the “Imohag” organization, its influence is expanding in these areas despite the presence of “Wagner”:
- The border area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
- The town of Tidermine, in northeastern Mali, near the border with Niger, has been under his control since noon on March 10.
- The strategic city of Menaka is now surrounded by ISIS terrorists who have defeated their opponents from JNIM.
- Sources in the Azawad region say that ISIS is now 20 kilometers from Menaka, and has the ability to prevent any humanitarian or military supplies to the city.
