Amnesty International calls for war crimes probe of reported killings of Mali soldiers

DAKAR, July 29 - Amnesty International called on Wednesday for a war crimes investigation into what it described as summary killings of at least 19 Malian soldiers by members of armed groups after an ambush on July 18.

• The attack occurred in northern Mali between the town of Anefis and the city of Gao, according to statements from Mali's armed forces, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), and the al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

• Amnesty said it analysed 12 videos of the incident which were shared on X accounts and on a Telegram channel associated with the Russian paramilitary Wagner.

• "It is clear that the soldiers were hors de combat before being subjected to ill-treatment and killed in execution style," said Ousmane Diallo, Amnesty's senior researcher on the Sahel.

• The U.N. human rights office has also called for an investigation into the incident, saying it could amount to a war crime.

• On Friday, Mali's military released a statement appearing to play down the incident.

• It said, "content recently circulated on social media purports to show the summary execution of Malian soldiers ... These images aim to frame this incident as a supposed military victory ... Such a portrayal stands in stark contradiction to the reality of the operations."

• It added, however, that "the execution of individuals who have been captured or rendered hors de combat constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and may be classified as a war crime." Hors de combat refers to a person protected from attack under international humanitarian law for reasons such as being wounded or having laid down their arms.

• The July 18 ambush marked the latest in a series of escalating assaults in Mali by the FLA and JNIM, which joined forces for nationwide attacks in April that killed the defence minister and hit the country's main airport, and launched a second wave this month aimed at seizing the town of Anefis.

• Mali's armed forces have so far retained control of Anefis.

• The mounting violence poses a threat to Mali's military-led government which took power in coups in 2020 and 2021 and promised to improve security in the landlocked country. REUTERS