Human Rights Watch has accused Russia’s Africa Corps of killing eight civilians, including three children, during what it described as indiscriminate and unlawful airstrikes in central Mali last month.
The Africa Corps, a paramilitary force established by Russia’s Defence Ministry, has largely taken over operations previously conducted by the Wagner Group in several African countries. It supports Mali’s military-led government in its campaign against armed groups.
According to a Human Rights Watch investigation, an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kèrègné in Mali’s central Mopti region on June 15.
One strike reportedly landed near the village chief’s home, killing his wife, two of his children and another child. A second strike hit a nearby livestock market, killing four men.
The rights group said it found no evidence that any fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an Al-Qaeda-linked group that has reportedly controlled the village for the past six years, were killed in the attack.
“The strikes on Kèrègné village do not appear to have targeted specific military objectives, making them unlawfully indiscriminate,” Human Rights Watch said.
The Africa Corps later published aerial footage on Facebook and X showing what it said was an operation carried out on June 15. It claimed the strike targeted a “gathering point for terrorist groups” in the Mopti region.
Mali has been fighting armed insurgent groups for more than a decade. The country initially relied heavily on French military support, but its military authorities later expelled French forces and strengthened security cooperation with Russia.