Human Rights Watch alerts on community violence in Mali

Text by: RFI Follow

In a new report, Human Rights Watch examines "the atrocities committed against civilians in central Mali in 2019". It is the deadliest year for civilians since the start of the crisis in the country in 2012 according to the organization.

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At least 456 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in dozens of attacks by armed groups, says Human Rights Watch , who says the toll is likely to be much heavier. The author of this report, Corinne Dufka, refers in particular to the amplification of community violence, fueled by the presence of Islamist groups , a climate of impunity, and " easy access to arms ":

" Islamist groups ," she explains, " have concentrated their recruitment efforts on the Fulani community. And, in response to this, as well as to the lack of presence of the police, bambara and Dogon self-defense groups were formed to protect their villages. But they also carried out operations against the Peul populations, whom they accused of supporting the armed Islamist groups. In 2019, we saw the most severe atrocities in the history of Mali with the Ogossagou massacre . But there were several very serious incidents, armed groups intensified their attacks against civilians, they massacred residents in villages, many villagers were burned alive, while the others were killed by explosive devices. "

A responsibility shared by the State

Corinne Dufka also points to the responsibility of the government, powerless to protect the population , or even to have a biased attitude: " It is the State which is responsible for the protection of the civilian population. And we have noticed in Mali that the State's responses are not impartial. It was noted that, during dozens of atrocities committed in the context of community violence, the police responded in an unfair manner. We have noticed that the police are very slow with their response, people call them to come to the rescue, they don't come. "

For her, this lack of response encourages civilian populations to join armed groups: “ So all of this is another factor that pushes people to form vigilante groups. And these vigilante groups have become uncontrollable. We have noticed that the growing presence of vigilante groups in Mali has really pushed people, especially in Fulani populations to join Islamist groups, sometimes it is a protection strategy for communities. "

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