Malian and Russian flags fly side-by-side in Bamako, Mali, September 22, 2020.
(Nairobi) – Russian government-controlled Africa Corps’ forces summarily killed nine civilians, including four children, and beat dozens of others in central Mali in early July 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. Africa Corps’ fighters also looted and burned at least eight homes, while presumably looking for people with ties to Islamist armed groups.
On July 10 at about 5 a.m., more than 100 Africa Corps’ fighters, accompanied by several Malian soldiers, stormed Bombori village in Mopti region in pickup trucks and on motorbikes. They broke into homes in the ethnic Fulani neighborhood, dragged people out, and rounded up at least 80 men and boys under a tree. There, the fighters beat the men and boys, interrogated them about alleged links to Islamist armed groups, and threatened to kill them if they withheld information. They shot and killed six civilians who tried to flee, and detained and executed three others, one of whom they beheaded.
“The Malian junta appears to have given Russian Africa Corps forces a green light to kill civilians,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Malian authorities cannot evade legal responsibility by leaving the atrocities to the Africa Corps. They need to promptly and impartially investigate these abuses, and hold all those responsible to account, including Malian military personnel.”
Human Rights Watch remotely interviewed 13 people between July 19 and 30, including 4 witnesses to the attack and 9 civil society members and community leaders.
Witnesses said Russian forces led the operation in Bombori and were accompanied by four Malian soldiers acting primarily as interpreters. “The Russians were in charge … they were over 100, all dressed in military uniforms and heavily armed,” said a 39-year-old villager
