Human Rights Watch said in a report that it was reported that Malian forces and suspected Russian mercenaries executed about 300 civilians over a period of 5 days during a military operation in a town in central Mali, which the country's army denied.

The killings mentioned in the report took place between 27 and 31 March last in Mora, a rural town with a population of about 10,000 people located between Djenni and Mopti, which is one of the hot spots for the activity of violent groups that increased and spread to neighboring countries in the African Sahel region.

"This incident is the worst single reported atrocity in Mali's decade-long armed conflict," Human Rights Watch said.

Western condemnation

The above-mentioned executions sparked condemnation from the United States, the European Union, France and Germany, all of which called on the Malian government to allow an independent investigation.

"The Malian government should open an urgent and impartial investigation into these mass killings, including the role of foreign soldiers," said Corinne Dufka, Sahel region director at Human Rights Watch.

She added that for the sake of credibility, the authorities should involve the African Union and the United Nations in the investigations.


Mali army novel

In view of the increasing reports in the media in this regard, the Chief of Staff of the Malian army issued a statement yesterday evening, Tuesday, in which it condemned "baseless allegations" aimed at "distorting the image" of the armed forces, she said.

Without referring specifically to Human Rights Watch, the statement by the Chief of Staff reiterated that respect for rights is a "priority in carrying out military operations."

In its statement, the Chief of Staff called for "restraint in the face of defamatory speculation."

The authorities, which are dominated by the army and took over by force in 2020, gave a completely different account last Friday, speaking of a professional operation that allowed the killing of 203 fighters belonging to "armed terrorist groups" after receiving information that they would meet in that town, and the arrest of 51 others.

"Total control of the town allowed the search and identification of terrorists who are hiding and hiding among the civilian population," the army said in a statement.

He added that he used a helicopter after a gun battle to track down and "neutralize" the militants who were trying to escape, and that he then arrested the suspects in the town and airlifted them for trial.

Affidavits and testimonials

However, witnesses gave Human Rights Watch a different account of the operation that followed the events in Mora on March 27, when helicopters carrying Malian soldiers arrived at a livestock fair, in which more than 100 Russian-speaking men participated, according to multiple security sources who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Watch.

19 witnesses reported that Malian soldiers and others who spoke Russian arrived by helicopter and exchanged fire with what they described as Islamist militants, and that some militants, soldiers and civilians were killed during this clash.

Eyewitnesses added that the forces then spread around the town where they executed a number of men, then collected hundreds of unarmed men from their homes and took them to a nearby river bank.

Many of these were merchants from nearby villages who came to the town's weekly cattle market;

The men were held for 5 days in the sun, and some were arbitrarily chosen to be executed by firing squad during the night.

According to the organization’s report, in the following days, dozens of prisoners were executed in small groups by bullets, perhaps on the basis of their clothing, or because they had beards, or because of their race, as the bodies were piled up in 3 mass graves.

She noted that the "vast majority" of the men executed by Malian soldiers and white fighters were Fulani, and that civilians were forced to dig mass graves before their execution, and some remains were burned beyond recognition.

It added that "the premeditated murder or mistreatment of a detainee is a war crime."