At least 48 civilians have been killed in a series of attacks blamed on Islamic State-linked militants in eastern Mali, according to security sources and local officials, amid escalating violence involving armed groups and pro-government forces.
The killings took place over the weekend in at least five locations across the Menaka region, where fighters affiliated with Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) allegedly targeted communities following military operations conducted by government-aligned forces.
Two security sources and two local officials told Reuters that the attacks appeared to be retaliation for alleged abuses committed last week by members of the pro-government MSA militia and Russia’s Africa Corps, which supports Mali’s military authorities.
A municipal official in Menaka said the pro-government forces had targeted civilians suspected of supplying information to Islamic State fighters.
The official alleged that approximately 12 people were killed during those operations, while homes were burned and property looted.
Islamic State militants subsequently launched attacks on Sunday, setting houses ablaze, stealing livestock and forcing hundreds of residents to flee towards Menaka town, according to the sources.
Some victims were reportedly shot, while others died in burning buildings.
The sources provided provisional casualty figures ranging from 48 to more than 70, warning that the death toll could rise as information emerges from affected communities.
ISSP has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, and the allegations could not be independently verified.
Neither Mali’s military nor the Russian embassy in Bamako immediately responded to requests for comment. Malian authorities have previously denied accusations of deliberately targeting civilians during counterinsurgency operations.
The latest violence comes as rival militant organisations intensify their struggle for territory and influence across the Sahel.
ISSP and the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have engaged in increasingly deadly confrontations in recent weeks, particularly along the Mali-Burkina Faso border.
Last week, ISSP claimed to have killed 400 JNIM fighters after repelling an alleged ambush in Burkina Faso. The figure remains unverified.
The two organisations have fought hundreds of clashes since their rivalry erupted into open conflict in 2019, leaving more than 2,000 people dead, according to conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED.
Mali has faced successive insurgencies since 2012, when Tuareg separatists and Islamist armed groups seized large areas of the country’s north.
Despite years of military operations and the deployment of Russian-backed forces, insecurity has continued to spread, exposing civilian communities to attacks, displacement and allegations of abuses by multiple armed actors.
