HRW Accuses Russia’s Africa Corps of Deadly Airstrike on Mali Civilians

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Russia’s Africa Corps of carrying out an indiscriminate airstrike that killed eight civilians, including three children, in central Mali, raising fresh concerns over civilian casualties in the country’s long-running conflict.

According to an HRW investigation released Friday, the June 15 attack targeted the village of Kyrnia in Mali’s Mopti region. The rights group said an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village. One strike reportedly hit near the residence of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children, and another child. A second strike struck a nearby cattle market, killing four men.

HRW said there was no evidence that members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), the al Qaeda-linked militant group believed to control Kyrnia for the past six years, were killed in the attack. The organization concluded the strikes did not appear to target specific military objectives, making them potentially unlawful under international humanitarian law.

Africa Corps, the Russian paramilitary force created by Russia’s defense ministry after replacing much of the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa, posted aerial footage on Facebook and X showing what it described as a strike on a “gathering place of terrorist groups” in the Mopti region on the same day. HRW said it geolocated the footage to Kyrnia. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims, while authorities in Russia and Mali did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russia has expanded its military support for Mali after French forces withdrew from the country, helping the military-led government battle Islamist insurgents. Fighting intensified after JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) launched coordinated attacks earlier this year.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly accused all sides of committing abuses during the conflict. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data reported that Malian forces and Russian paramilitary fighters killed 918 civilians last year, nearly four times the number attributed to Islamist groups. HRW has urged Mali to investigate the Kyrnia strike and hold those responsible accountable, warning that both Mali and its Russian allies could face responsibility for alleged violations of international law.