Mali: Amnesty International reports war crimes by army and Wagner forces in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou
Amnesty International has accused Mali’s armed forces and fighters from the Russian Wagner group of committing war crimes against civilians between 2023 and 2025, according to a report released on 28 September 2026. The document, titled “No one is spared,” draws on research conducted in Mauritania with Malian refugees and presents testimony from 119 people originating from the Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou regions.
Key findings at a glance
The rights organization says it cross-checked witness accounts with other sources and analyzed information related to military operations. Its conclusions are stark: at least 34 civilians were killed in seven Malian localities between June 2023 and December 2025 during operations attributed to Malian forces and their Wagner allies. The report also documents cases of torture, forced disappearance, looting and destruction of civilian property.
Where the abuses occurred
The documented incidents are concentrated in Mali’s central and northern regions, particularly Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou — areas long affected by insecurity and armed group activity. According to Amnesty International, some victims were killed as they tried to flee or after being arrested. The organization reports that some individuals were throat-slit or burned. In Tin Adanda, in the Tombouctou region, four people were reportedly killed during a joint patrol in February 2025.
Pastoral communities under suspicion
A central concern in the report is the targeting of pastoral populations, notably Peul, Arab and Tuareg communities. Amnesty estimates that many victims belonged to these groups, accused or suspected of links to armed groups because of their origin or their presence in areas controlled or frequented by insurgents. The organization warns against what it describes as a risk of generalization: conflating an entire community with armed groups could expose civilians to collective reprisals.
Drone strikes under scrutiny
The report also examines two drone strikes carried out by Malian forces in the Tombouctou region in 2025. Amnesty says they killed at least 23 people, including at least five children. One of the most documented cases concerns the Ejdeir market, struck on 16 March 2025. According to Amnesty, 16 people were killed and seven others wounded. The organization says it found no evidence establishing the presence of fighters or military objectives at the market at the time of the strike.
Malian authorities had stated they targeted “terrorist meetings.” Amnesty says the geographical information provided by the authorities corresponds to the location struck at Ejdeir. In the absence of a verified military target, the organization considers such an attack could constitute a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a possible war crime.
This question is particularly sensitive in a conflict where Malian authorities present military operations as necessary to fight jihadist and other armed groups. Amnesty’s report does not challenge, in principle, the authorities’ right to fight armed groups. It insists, however, on the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilian populations.
Torture allegations in military bases
Another particularly grave section of the report concerns allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Amnesty International says it interviewed 15 men who reported being tortured during joint patrols or in military bases located notably in Léré and Nampala. The organization says their accounts were corroborated by witnesses who reported having observed torture involving around thirty people.
The methods described are particularly violent: suspension of detainees by the arms, simulated drowning, beatings with metal bars or sticks, and electric shocks. According to Amnesty, five people died in military bases as a result of torture or poor detention conditions. The report states that the acts were mainly committed by Wagner members, sometimes in the presence of Malian soldiers. Some individuals were held for days to months without being brought before a court, without access to legal assistance, or without being able to contact their families.
Wagner gone, Africa Corps remains
The report comes as Russia’s presence in Mali has evolved. The Wagner group, present in the country since late 2021, was replaced in June 2025 by Africa Corps, a structure under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Amnesty International is calling on Malian authorities to publicly clarify relations with Africa Corps and the oversight mechanisms applicable to its members. For the organization, a change in structure must not translate into an absence of accountability when violations of international law are committed.
This evolution occurs amid a profound transformation of Mali’s security policy. Since the 2020 coup, authorities have gradually strengthened military cooperation with Russia while reducing dependence on Western partners.
A crisis beyond government forces
Amnesty International nonetheless stresses that the documented abuses cannot be attributed to one side alone. In recent years, armed groups active in Mali have also been accused of serious violations of international humanitarian law. The organization recalls that armed groups have committed unlawful killings, kidnappings and other abuses against civilian populations. This clarification is important in a complex conflict where multiple armed actors are present and civilians often find themselves caught between different forces.
The humanitarian situation also remains concerning. According to data presented by Amnesty in its Mali assessment, more than 2,036 schools were closed due to insecurity, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of access to education.
The question of impunity
Beyond the accusations themselves, the report raises a central question: that of justice. Amnesty International says it transmitted its findings to Malian authorities on 3 August 2026 and indicates it had not received a response at the time of the report’s publication. The organization calls on Bamako to open “effective and impartial” investigations into the alleged crimes and to prosecute, where evidence warrants, those responsible before jurisdictions respecting fair trial guarantees.
The judicial question takes on an additional dimension since Mali announced in June 2026 its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. According to Amnesty, this withdrawal does not end proceedings already covered by the ICC’s jurisdiction: the court would retain jurisdiction over crimes within its mandate committed during the legally applicable period.
In this context, Amnesty International’s report appears less as a simple inventory of abuses than as a warning about the risk of entrenched impunity.
What lies behind the figures
For civilian populations in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou, the challenge remains immediate: surviving a conflict where the distinction between combatants and civilians often remains fragile. For Malian authorities, the accusations formulated by Amnesty now constitute an additional file that must be answered, in the name of protecting populations but also the credibility of institutions responsible for delivering justice.
Behind the statistics — 34 documented deaths, dozens of detainees tortured and dozens of other alleged victims — lies a reality harder to measure: that of displaced families, villages emptied of their inhabitants and a population that continues to live between the threat of armed groups and the operations of security forces.
Amnesty’s report thus recalls a fundamental requirement of international law: the fight against armed groups does not exempt any party to the conflict from protecting civilians. In Mali, the battle against insecurity is therefore also being fought on another terrain — that of justice, accountability and the protection of populations.