A report that forces a reckoning
Bamako — A new Amnesty International report on Mali has cast a harsh light on more than a decade of conflict between government forces and armed groups. Released on 28 September 2026, the document accuses members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), operating alongside foreign fighters from the Wagner group, of committing war crimes against civilians between 2023 and 2025.
Titled “No one is spared,” the report draws on research conducted in Mauritania with Malian refugees. Amnesty International says it gathered testimony from 119 people from the Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou regions, cross-checked their accounts with other sources, and analysed information related to military operations.
The findings are severe: at least 34 civilians were reportedly killed in seven Malian localities between June 2023 and December 2025 during operations attributed to Malian forces and their Wagner allies. Amnesty also cites cases of torture, forced disappearance, looting and destruction of civilian property.
Civilians caught in the crossfire of military operations
The documented incidents occurred mainly in central and northern Mali, particularly in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou — areas hit hard by insecurity and armed group activity.
According to Amnesty International, some victims were killed while trying to flee or after being arrested. The organisation also reports cases where people were beheaded or burned. In Tin Adanda, in the Tombouctou region, four people were reportedly killed during a joint patrol in February 2025.
A key concern in the report is the targeting of pastoral communities, including Fulani, Arab and Tuareg groups. Amnesty believes many victims belonged to these communities, accused or suspected of ties to armed groups because of their origin or presence in areas controlled or frequented by insurgents.
The organisation warns against what it sees as a risk of generalisation: equating 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 in 2025 by Malian forces in the Tombouctou region. Amnesty says they killed at least 23 people, including at least five children.
One of the most documented cases involves the Ejdeir market, struck on 16 March 2025. According to Amnesty, 16 people were killed and seven others wounded. The organisation says it found no evidence of fighters or military objectives at the market at the time of the strike.
Malian authorities had said they targeted “meetings of terrorists.” Amnesty believes the geographic information provided by the authorities corresponds to the location struck in Ejdeir. In the absence of a verified military target, the organisation considers such an attack could amount to a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a possible war crime.
The issue 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 the authorities’ right to fight armed groups in principle, but insists on the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
Torture allegations in military bases
Another grave section of the report concerns allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
Amnesty International says it interviewed 15 men who described being tortured during joint patrols or in military bases, notably in Léré and Nampala. The organisation says their accounts were corroborated by witnesses who reported having seen torture involving about 30 people.
The methods described are particularly violent: suspending detainees by their 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 legal assistance, or without contact with 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 Defence.
Amnesty International is calling on Malian authorities to publicly clarify relations with Africa Corps and the oversight mechanisms applicable to its members. For the organisation, a change in structure must not mean a lack of accountability when violations of international law occur.
This shift occurs amid a deep 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 nevertheless 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 organisation notes that armed groups have committed unlawful killings, kidnappings and other abuses against civilians. This point matters in a complex conflict with multiple armed actors, where civilians are often caught between different forces.
The humanitarian situation remains worrying. 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 had not received a response at the time of publication. The organisation is calling on Bamako to open “effective and impartial” investigations into the alleged crimes and to prosecute those responsible, where evidence warrants, before courts that respect fair trial guarantees.
The judicial question takes on an extra dimension following Mali’s announced decision in June 2026 to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. According to Amnesty, this withdrawal does not end proceedings already covered by ICC 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.
For civilians in Ségou, Mopti and Tombouctou, the challenge remains immediate: surviving a conflict where the line between combatants and civilians is often fragile. For Malian authorities, Amnesty’s accusations are now an additional file that must be answered — in the name of protecting populations and 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: displaced families, villages emptied of their inhabitants, and a population living between the threat of armed groups and the operations of security forces.
The Amnesty report thus recalls a fundamental requirement of international law: fighting armed groups does not exempt any party to the conflict from protecting civilians. In Mali, the battle against insecurity is also being fought on another front — that of justice, accountability and the protection of populations.
