15 March 2022
Soldiers in Mali have been responsible for killing at least 71 civilians since early December, a leading rights group said in a report on Tuesday.
Mali’s military government contested the findings by New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Army abuses in the centre and southwest of Mali, including executions of the elderly and children, have risen as soldiers attempt to counter an Islamist insurgency that has swept across the country since 2012.
Mali’s government did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
It told Human Rights Watch that it was investigating a number of abuses outlined in the report but denied involvement in the gravest incident – a mass execution this month in which the charred bodies of 35 civilians were found in the Ségou region, some with holes in the back of their heads.
Source News24
