Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report accusing jihadists from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), their allies in the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), the Malian army, and the Russian mercenaries of Africa Corps of committing severe abuses against civilians. The report, published on Monday, June 29, highlights the spike in violence following the coordinated attacks on April 25 and 26.

According to HRW, all parties involved in the conflict have illegally targeted civilians, with some engaging in the destruction and looting of homes and businesses. The clashes that erupted after the JNIM and FLA offensive against several junta positions resulted in at least 13 civilian deaths and 25 injuries in the towns of Gao and Kidal.

One 38-year-old resident of Kidal recounted being caught in the crossfire. “I was hit by bullets in my right shoulder and left thigh,” he said, unable to identify the source of the gunfire. “Shots were coming from all directions.”

Executions, airstrikes, and destruction reported

HRW also accuses the JNIM of burning more than 40 civilian vehicles between May 6 and 21 on roads leading to Bamako. The group is further implicated in the public execution of a man in the town of Tonka. “We recovered his body … with a bullet in the head,” a local witness told HRW.

The Malian military is held responsible for the deaths of 38 civilians, including 23 children, during operations targeting Fulani communities in central Mali. The report also mentions suspected drone strikes in Guimbé and Tené. A resident of Tené described the attack: “I heard a noise from the sky, then an explosion. The damage was enormous, with dead and wounded.”

HRW conducted 34 remote interviews, analyzed satellite imagery, videos, and photographs to compile its findings. The organization stated it had contacted Malian authorities but received no response. In their defense, JNIM stated that “there can be no war without human costs,” while the FLA claimed to have taken sufficient measures to prevent civilians from becoming collateral damage.