A dramatic general assessment for civilians in Mali. In 2022, the government of Bamako and its Russian ally have failed to stem the violence affecting the country. Worse, the overall number of victims has increased significantly in one year. In its latest quarterly note on human rights violations, the UN Mission in Mali (Minusma) recorded no less than 1,277 people killed in 2022 against 584 in 2021, an increase of 118%. On the other hand, the number of people kidnapped or disappeared has fallen by 58% (from 744 in 2021 to 372 in 2022). The number of injured has increased from 462 in 2021 to 352 in 2022.
Those responsible for this violence
They are to a large extent, notes the UN, attributable to armed groups affiliated with the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM, linked to Al-Qaida) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS, linked to Daesh). The Minusma attributes 1,092 victims to them, or 56% of the total. The Defense and Security Forces (Malian government forces), and their Russian allies under Wagner, are said to have committed 694 human rights violations, or 35% of the total number. Other abuses are mainly attributed to armed groups that signed the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement and to militias and other armed community self-defense groups.
The centers of violence
Frequent and elaborate attacks by these groups in different parts of the country have continued to fuel the cycle of violence. In particular in central Mali and in the so-called “three borders” area (the territory between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger). The actions of extremist groups affiliated with GSIM and EIGS have targeted the key towns of Gao and Ménaka, generating forced population displacements, including towards other northern regions. In January, the UN estimated at 440,000 the number of Malians displaced because of this violence.
In central Mali, the GSIM and EIGS manage to take advantage of inter-community conflicts to extend their influence and attract new recruits. Thus, in the southern regions, particularly in Sikasso and Koutiala, the security situation appears to be increasingly worrying with increasing attacks by the GSMI and the EIGS.
Mali denies
Already very high, the number of crimes against civilians could actually be higher. According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, 300 civilians were massacred a year ago by Malian soldiers associated with foreign fighters in Moura, in central Mali. Still investigating this massacre, the UN did not take these figures into account in its assessment.
For their part, the Malian authorities expressed doubts, Thursday, March 23, on the “credibility” of this record of the United Nations. Their relations with the human rights division of Minusma are appalling. In February, they expelled its leader, Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali, from Mali, judging that his “actions” in Mali were “destabilizers and subversives”.