Aftermath of the apparent Malian military drone strike on September 16, 2026, in Guélédié village, Mopti region, Mali. Screenshots from video analyzed and geolocated by Human Rights Watch.
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(Nairobi) – Mali’s armed forces and the allied Russia-controlled Africa Corps have committed new atrocities against civilians in central Mali during renewed fighting, Human Rights Watch said today.
On September 16, 2026, an apparent military drone strike in Guélédié village, Mopti region, killed eight civilians and injured at least six others. Between May and August, Malian and Africa Corps forces held numerous detainees inhumanely in a metal container at an army base in Sévaré town, Mopti region, where many were tortured, including with severe beatings, electric shock, and waterboarding.
“Civilians are bearing the brunt of the Mali junta’s failure to rein in its abusive forces and allies,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Recent atrocities implicate the Malian army as well as Russia-controlled Africa Corps, for which Russian officials should also be held accountable.”
The Malian army’s offensive followed coordinated attacks across Mali by the Al Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (Front de Libération de l’Azawad, FLA) in late April. Malian forces and the allied Africa Corps killed civilians, including many children, and destroyed civilian property and health facilities in airstrikes and other attacks.
Human Rights Watch remotely interviewed fifteen people between August and September, including three witnesses in Guélédié, four former detainees at the Sévaré military base, and eight members of nongovernmental organizations. Human Rights Watch sent letters to the Malian and Russian defense ministers in
