Bamako — A new Amnesty International report on Mali paints a stark picture of the conflict that has pitted government forces against armed groups for over a decade. Released on September 28, 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 collected testimonies from 119 people from the Ségou, Mopti, and Timbuktu regions. The organisation also cross-checked these accounts with other sources and analysed information related to military operations.
The findings are severe: 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. Amnesty also cites cases of torture, forced disappearance, pillaging, and destruction of civilian property.
Civilians caught in military operations
The documented incidents mainly concern central and northern Mali, particularly Ségou, Mopti, and Timbuktu—areas hard hit by insecurity and armed group activity.
According to Amnesty International, some victims were killed as they tried to flee or after being arrested. The organisation also reports cases where people were beheaded or burned. In Tin Adanda, in the Timbuktu region, four people were killed during a joint patrol in February 2025.
One of the report’s main concerns is the impact on pastoral populations, notably Fulani, Arab, and Tuareg communities. 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 at the centre of accusations
The report also examines two drone strikes carried out in 2025 by Malian forces in the Timbuktu region. 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 March 16, 2025. According to Amnesty, 16 people were killed and seven others injured. The organisation says it found no evidence of fighters or military objectives at the market at the time of the strike.
Malian authorities had stated they targeted “meetings of terrorists.” Amnesty notes that the geographical information provided by the authorities matches the location struck in Ejdeir. The organisation argues that without a proven military target, such an attack could constitute a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a possible war crime.
This issue is particularly sensitive in a conflict where Malian authorities present military operations as necessary to fight jihadist groups and other armed organisations. Amnesty’s report does not challenge the authorities’ right to combat armed groups in principle. However, it insists on the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
Allegations of torture in military bases
Another particularly grave section of the report concerns accusations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
Amnesty International says it interviewed 15 men who claimed to have suffered torture during joint patrols or in military bases, notably in Léré and Nampala. The organisation says their accounts were corroborated by witnesses who said they saw torture involving about thirty people.
The methods described are especially violent: suspension 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 legal assistance, or 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 translate into a lack of accountability when violations of international law are committed.
This development 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 that goes 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 recalls that armed groups have committed unlawful killings, abductions, and other abuses against civilians. This clarification is important 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 submitted its findings to Malian authorities on August 3, 2026, and indicates it had received no response at the time of the report’s publication. The organisation calls on Bamako to open “effective and impartial” investigations into the alleged crimes and to prosecute those responsible before courts that respect fair trial guarantees, when evidence warrants.
The judicial issue takes on an additional 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 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.
For civilians in Ségou, Mopti, and Timbuktu, the challenge remains immediate: surviving a conflict where the distinction between combatants and civilians is often fragile. For Malian authorities, Amnesty’s accusations now represent an additional file they will have to answer, in the name of protecting populations but also the credibility of institutions responsible for delivering justice.
Because behind the statistics—34 documented deaths, dozens of tortured detainees, and dozens of other alleged victims—lies a reality harder to measure: that of displaced families, villages emptied of their inhabitants, and a population living 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 played out on another front—that of justice, accountability, and the protection of populations.
