Army and militants harmed civilians – report

Malian civilians suffered serious abuses at the hands of Islamic militants, the Malian armed forces and their allies during attacks across the West African country this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report. According to France24, the report documented the killings of civilians and burning of civilian vehicles by JNIM fighters, as well as abusive counterinsurgency operations against Fulani communities from the Malian army and its allies, which led to killings of 38 civilians, including 23 children. It also said Mali’s military carried out two apparent drone strikes that killed 10 adults and 12 children and teenagers. ‘As fighting flares up again, the warring parties in Mali are once again carrying out grave abuses against civilians, repeating former patterns of harming civilians,’ said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch interviewed 30 witnesses, verified and geolocated videos and photographs posted on social media, and analysed satellite imagery. Mali has been plagued for over a decade by militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, including JNIM, as well as a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north. Violence escalated in recent months after an alliance of JNIM and Tuareg separatists carried out the largest coordinated attack in over a decade.