In its quarterly report sent to APA, the United Nations Mission in Mali places jihadist groups and the Malian army in the dock.
In Mali, cases of human rights violations have increased exponentially. It has not improved under the transition, according to data released Monday by MINUSMA on trends in violence and human rights abuses.
UN investigators say they documented 449 security incidents in the central region from 1 January to 31 March, 86 in Gao, 69 in Timbuktu and 37 in Menaka.
According to the report released on Monday May 30, 812 civilians were affected by the violence. In this category, 512 cases of murder, 167 kidnappings or missing persons, 107 wounded and 55 illegal detentions were counted.
The document received by APA indicates that these “data represent an increase of 151% compared to the previous quarter” during which 323 civilians were affected by security incidents, with jihadist groups, self-defence groups and the Malian defence and security forces cited as the cause.
In the period under review, acts attributed to jihadist groups such as the JNIM or ‘other similar groups’ increased by 78% and involved ‘410 human rights violations, representing a 50% increase in documented violations and abuses’.
Malian army denies
In addition, MINUSMA claims to have documented 320 human rights violations attributable to the Malian defence and security forces (FDSM) in the context of military operations between January and March 2022, compared to 31 in the previous quarter. “In total, 248 civilians were killed, including 18 women and six (6) children,” the quarterly note details. Most of the documented incidents occurred in central Mali.
Regarding the alleged massacre of more than 500 people in Moura, a village in the Djenné circle, in the Mopti region, MINUSMA said it had “opened an investigation into reports and allegations that Malian security forces, accompanied by foreign military personnel, carried out summary executions and multiple human rights violations”. The Malian army denied these accusations, claiming to have carried out a military operation from 27 to 31 March which resulted in the neutralisation of 203 fighters from “armed terrorist groups” and the arrest of 51 people. Due to the lack of access to Mourra, MINUSMA has not yet conducted an investigation into what actually happened.
Nevertheless, dialogue with the Malian authorities for the deployment of a fact-finding mission is ongoing. “The conclusions of the MINUSMA investigation will be the subject of a public report,” the UN mission in Mali promises.
AC/cgd/lb/abj/APA