An alarming new report from the United Nations. The number of civilians killed in Mali more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, and 35% of human rights violations were attributed to the Defence and Security Forces (FDS), according to the document seen by AFP on Wednesday.

In its quarterly note on human rights violations, the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) indicates that 1,277 people were killed in 2022 in violence attributable to different actors, compared to 584 in 2021. An increase of 118%.

"Overall, 2,001 people were affected by acts of violence in 2022 (1,277 killed, 372 kidnapped/missing and 352 injured)," said the mission, created in 2013 to help stabilize the state of Mali.

Jihadists singled out

Jihadist groups are the main perpetrators of the violence – they committed 56% of the violations recorded, according to the same source.

After two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the military in power in Mali pushed out, in 2022, their French partner to turn to Russia – "instructors", according to the junta, mercenaries of the Wagner group involved in multiple abuses, according to different Western states.

"With regard to the Defence and Security Forces (FDS), 694 human rights violations, or 35% of the total number of violations, are attributable to their elements, sometimes accompanied by foreign military personnel," MINUSMA said.

These figures do not include violations committed at the end of March 2022 in Moura where, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch, 300 civilians were massacred by Malian soldiers associated with foreign, possibly Russian, fighters.

Multiple violence

The Malian army has denied this, claiming the elimination of more than 200 jihadists. Tensions with MINUSMA's human rights division escalated sharply when the military came to power two years ago.

The junta openly blocks MINUSMA's investigations into human rights and abuses of which Malian forces are regularly accused. In February, the head of the UN mission's human rights division was expelled by the authorities from Bamako.

Mali has been plagued since 2012 by jihadist spread and violence of all kinds. This vast poor and landlocked country is plunged into a deep crisis not only in security, but also in political and humanitarian crisis.

The violence is perpetrated by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, self-proclaimed militias and various armed groups, but also by regular forces and bandits.

With AFP

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