A column of black smoke rises above buildings in Bamako on April 26, 2026.
(Nairobi) – Islamist armed groups and Malian armed forces and their allies have committed serious abuses against civilians since fighting escalated in Mali in April 2026, Human Rights Watch said today.
On April 25, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM) carried out coordinated attacks across Mali. JNIM joined forces with Tuareg fighters of the Azawad Liberation Front (Front de libération de l’Azawad, or FLA), who are seeking to overthrow the military junta led by Gen. Assimi Goïta and backed by Russian fighters from Africa Corps (formerly the Wagner Group). All parties have unlawfully attacked civilians and some parties destroyed and looted their homes and shops. On April 28, JNIM announced a “total siege” of the capital, Bamako, threatened to kill civilians obstructing its operations, and attacked civilian vehicles. Malian armed forces responded with apparent reprisals against Fulani communities and two apparent airstrikes killing civilians.
“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. “All parties are obligated to respect international humanitarian law, take all feasible steps to avoid civilian harm, and facilitate access to humanitarian aid.”
Human Rights Watch remotely interviewed 34 people between April 26 and June 9, including 30 witnesses to abuses, as well as civil society members, community leaders, and journalists. Human Rights Watch also verified and geolocated four videos posted online and six photographs and analyzed satellite imagery showing destroyed shelters. Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Mali’s jus
