Highlights: Human Rights Watch calls on Mali to "redouble efforts" in the face of terrorist violence. The NGO has documented the "large-scale killings, rapes and looting" committed since the beginning of the year in northeastern Mali. The terrorist threat has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, according to the UN. Human Rights Watch is also reacting to the departure of MINUSMA, which is due to leave the country by the end of this year. The organization also calls on them to "work more closely with regional bodies and donor governments"

In a report published Thursday, July 13, the human rights NGO Human Rights Watch appeals to the authorities in Bamako on terrorist violence, after documenting the "killings,...

Human Rights Watch calls on Mali to "redouble efforts" in the face of terrorist violence

In a report published Thursday, July 13, the human rights NGO Human Rights Watch appeals to the authorities in Bamako on terrorist violence, after documenting the "large-scale killings, rapes and looting" committed since the beginning of the year in northeastern Mali, mainly by the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group. Human Rights Watch is also reacting to the departure of MINUSMA, which is due to leave the country by the end of the year.

The terrorist threat has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, according to the UN, some of whom have been herded into camps like Faladie, near Bamako, here on November 9, 2022. © Ousmane Makaveli / AFP

Text by: David Baché

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Konga, Bourra, Labezzanga, Teguerert, among others: Human Rights Watch has documented eight specific cases of terrorist attacks over the past six months in the Menaka and Gao regions, where the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State (IS) group launched a major offensive a year and a half ago against its rival Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jnim). The latter is linked to the al-Qaeda group.

The fighting has clearly turned to ISIS's advantage in this part of the country, while Jnim is the most present terrorist group in the center of the country and other parts of the north. Thirty-nine first-hand witnesses and a dozen representatives of civil, local and international society report attacks on villages by terrorists on motorcycles or pick-up trucks.

Villagers say they received ultimatums from IS fighters, who gave them three days to flee or face execution. One witness recounts women raped by terrorists, others describe summary executions, including of minors, women and the elderly. Others report cattle rustling, an essential resource for these pastoralist communities.

The Malian army and MINUSMA had forces in the cities of Gao, Ménaka and Ansongo Human Rights Watch said. But "unlike in central Mali, these soldiers' patrols remained limited, as did their ability to protect civilians outside urban centers."

Human Rights Watch mentions several hundred deaths in total - without having been able to cross-check a more precise toll - and thousands of displaced: more than 375,000 according to the United Nations. The NGO therefore calls on the Malian transitional authorities to "redouble their efforts to protect civilians".

Concern over MINUSMA withdrawal

Expressing concern about MINUSMA's ongoing withdrawal, which is due to be completed by the end of December, the organization also calls on them to "work more closely with regional bodies and donor governments to fill the growing gap in security and humanitarian assistance".

The human rights organization recalls that MINUSMA also had a mandate to monitor human rights violations in Mali. It recommends that Bamako "continue to work with the United Nations human rights office and with the United Nations independent expert on human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine".

" READ ALSO Withdrawal of MINUSMA: "Mali will get closer to its situation at the beginning of the crisis in 2012"

Human Rights Watch calls on Mali to "redouble efforts" in the face of terrorist violence

Human Rights Watch calls on Mali to "redouble efforts" in the face of terrorist violence

Concern over MINUSMA withdrawal

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