Mali’s armed forces and their Russian allies have been accused of killing dozens of civilians in drone strikes and other military operations during an intensified campaign against insurgents, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
The rights organisation said some of the attacks appeared to be indiscriminate, with civilian casualties rising sharply between April and August as Mali’s military government stepped up operations against armed groups.
According to data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), Malian forces and Russia’s Africa Corps carried out 47 drone strikes that killed 94 civilians during the five-month period.
That compared with 22 strikes and 44 civilian deaths during the same period in 2025, representing more than a doubling of both attacks and fatalities.
The escalation followed a wave of coordinated attacks launched on April 25 by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg-led separatists.
The assaults targeted several towns and cities, including Bamako’s main airport, and killed Mali’s defence minister, highlighting the military government’s continuing struggle to contain insurgent violence.
Mali’s military leadership, which seized power through coups in 2020 and 2021, has increasingly relied on Russian security assistance, including fighters from Africa Corps, in its counterinsurgency operations.
Civilian markets and medical facilities targeted
Human Rights Watch documented several attacks that it said raised serious concerns about violations of international humanitarian law.
Among them was an August 19 drone strike on a cattle market in the central Bandiagara region that killed six men.
Another strike, carried out before dawn on July 29, hit a health centre in the northern Kidal region near the Algerian border, according to the report.
The organisation also reported abuses involving ground troops, including a July 12 incident in the Segou region in which soldiers allegedly shot dead five young girls after mistaking them for attackers.
Malian military authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
Human Rights Watch said it had written to Mali’s new defence minister on August 5 outlining its findings but received no response.
Mali’s military has previously rejected allegations that its counterinsurgency operations deliberately targeted civilians.
The Russian embassy in Bamako also did not immediately respond to questions regarding Africa Corps’ involvement.
Insurgent groups also accused of atrocities
The report also documented serious abuses allegedly committed by JNIM and Tuareg-led separatist forces.
Among the incidents was the execution of 19 captured soldiers in the northern Gao region in July.
JNIM’s Sharia Committee acknowledged to Human Rights Watch that the killings had occurred but denied authorising them, saying such executions were not part of the group’s policy.
The Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front separately denied allegations that its fighters had executed soldiers.
The findings highlight the growing dangers facing civilians in Mali, where years of military operations and escalating insurgent attacks have failed to bring lasting security to large parts of the country.
