Islamist Armed Groups Responsible for Killing Civilians, Arson
- Mali's armed forces, supported by the Russia-backed Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups have committed serious abuses against civilians since the UN peacekeeping mission withdrew a year ago.
- Malian authorities' failure to hold members of the security forces, the Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups to account for grave abuses has eased the way for further atrocities.
- The Malian government should work with the National Human Rights Commission and the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali to establish a reliable means of monitoring and reporting on armed groups' and security forces' abuses.
(Nairobi) - Mali's armed forces, supported by the Russia-backed Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups have committed serious abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, from the country a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. The Malian government should work with the National Human Rights Commission and the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali to establish a reliable means of monitoring and reporting on armed groups' and security forces' abuses.
Since May 2024, Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group have deliberately killed at least 32 civilians, including 7 in a drone strike, forcibly disappeared 4 others, and burned at least 100 homes in military operations in towns and villages in central and northern Mali. Two Islamist armed groups, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) and of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), have summarily executed at least 47 civilians and displaced thousands of people since June. The JNIM has also burned over 1,000 homes and looted thousands of livestock. Human Rights Watch received credible reports of hundreds more civilians killed, but due to the difficulties of conducting research in central and northern Mali, the numbers in this report are conservative.
"The Malian army with the Wagner Group and Islamist armed groups have been targeting civilians and their property in violation of the laws of war," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Since MINUSMA left Mali a year ago, it has been extremely difficult to get comprehensive information on abuses, and we are deeply concerned that the situation is even worse than reported."
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) completed its withdrawal from the country on December 31, 2023, at the request of Malian authorities, heightening concerns about the protection of civilians and the monitoring and reporting of abuses by all sides.
Between July and October 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 47 witnesses and 11 other informed sources about abuses by the Malian army, Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery showing burned homes in several villages and verified and geolocated photos and videos posted on social media or sent directly to Human Rights Watch. On October 15, Human Rights Watch wrote to Mali's justice and defense ministers, providing its findings and related questions, but has not received replies.
Human Rights Watch documented Malian armed forces' violations during nine counterinsurgency operations against the JNIM since May. Witnesses said soldiers carried out abuses against communities they accused of collaborating with the JNIM. A dozen witnesses described the involvement of fighters from the Wagner Group, which has supported the Malian government since December 2021. The military security company was rebranded "Africa Corps" following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in 2023, when it came under direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry
"Our area is dominated by the JNIM, and you must deal with them," said a 30-year-old man from Ndorgollé, in the central region of Ségou. "They give you permission to graze cattle and to fish. It's a matter of survival not collaboration. But when you deal with them, you become a [government] target, even if you are not a jihadist."
Human Rights Watch documented a Malian military drone strike in the town of Tinzaouaten, Kidal region, in August, that killed seven civilians, including five children. "My son was wounded in the head, one eye was torn apart, and he lost a lot of blood," said the father of a 14-year-old boy. "Next to him were other dead and injured kids. I put my son on my shoulders and begged a motorcyclist to take me to the hospital, but he died on the way." Human Rights Watch previously documented two indiscriminate drone strikes by the Malian army in central Mali in February that killed at least 14 civilians as well as other serious abuses by the Malian security forces and allied Wagner forces and by the Islamist armed groups.
The JNIM has burned homes and looted livestock in Bandiagara region since June. JNIM fighters attacked several villages in the Doucombo and Pignari Bana district areas, setting over 1,000 homes on fire, stealing at least 3,500 animals, and forcing thousands of residents to flee, according to witnesses. Residents said the attacks were in apparent retaliation against communities that the JNIM accused of collaborating with the Dan Na Ambassagou militia, an umbrella organization of self-defense groups created in 2016 "to protect the Dogon country." The militia provided security in many villages of the area.
"The JNIM said women must cover themselves from head to toe," said a 50-year-old man from Danibombo 1 village. "We said 'No,' and the JNIM started beating our women. So many joined or supported Dan Na Ambassagou. This has made our villages [the JNIM's] target."
Human Rights Watch also documented an ISGS attack in August against a displaced peoples' camp in Ménaka city, Ménaka region, that killed seven civilians. "They started shooting at us," said a 42-year-old man. "I hid inside a tent. I could feel the bullets flying over my head."
On April 4, the UN Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali for one year. While this is an important step to maintain an international human rights monitoring presence in the country, the Independent Expert does not have the resources to gather in-depth reports, which are critical for accountability.
The Malian government has primary responsibility under international law for ensuring justice for serious crimes, but successive governments have made scant progress investigating, much less prosecuting, those responsible for the grave offenses since the armed conflict began in 2012.
All parties to Mali's armed conflict - the national armed forces, the Wagner Group and other allied militias, and Islamist armed groups - are bound by international humanitarian law, notably Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary laws of war. Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent - that is, intentionally or recklessly - may be prosecuted for war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. Mali is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Mali since 2012.
"Malian authorities' failure to hold members of the security forces, the Wagner Group, and other armed groups to account for grave abuses has eased the way for further atrocities," Allegrozzi said. "The government should work closely with the UN Independent Expert to promptly investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for grave abuses."
For witness accounts and other details, please see below. The names of those interviewed have been withheld for their protection.
Mali's Armed Conflict and MINUSMA's Departure
Since 2012, successive Malian governments have fought the JNIM and the ISGS. The hostilities have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and forcibly displaced over 350,000 more.
The departure of MINUSMA in 2023 accelerated the end of the 2015 peace agreement, which MINUSMA was mandated to implement, between the Malian government and a coalition of mainly ethnic Tuareg armed groups from northern Mali. Since the current Malian authorities - who took power in a May 2021 coup - declared the deal void in January 2023, security in northern Mali has deteriorated. Hostilities resumed between an alliance of Tuareg armed groups, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (Coalition des Mouvements de l'Azawad, CMA), and the Malian army alongside Wagner Group fighters.
Since MINUSMA withdrew, the Malian army and allied Wagner fighters have increasingly killed civilians during counterinsurgency operations. According to the nonprofit organization Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which compiles media and nongovernmental group reports on conflict, Malian military and allied forces carried out 255 operations resulting in the killing of approximately 1,063 civilians between January 1 and October 31, compared with 216 operations, resulting in 912 civilians killed, in the same period in 2023.
ACLED compiled reports of 129 air and drone strikes between January 1 and October 31, 2024, compared with 84 in the same period in 2023. Also, according to ACLED, between January 1 and October 31, 2023, Islamist armed groups carried out 326 attacks resulting in 478 civilians killed, compared with 279 attacks and 344 civilians killed in the same period in 2024.
ACLED also supported Human Rights Watch in the verification of some incidents and the analysis of their database of events.
Abuses by Army, Wagner Group
Ségou Region
N'Dola, May 2
On May 2, Malian forces carried out an operation in N'Dola, a village controlled by the JNIM. Residents said that the soldiers killed six civilian men, ages 40 to 61, and arrested eight others. Villagers compiled a list with the names of the victims and those arrested.
"The soldiers stormed the village at 3 a.m., shooting," a woman said. "My husband tried to escape but was shot in front of the house. I watched helplessly as they put his body in a bag and left."
A traditional authority in N'Dola corroborated that the six men were civilians. He also said that the eight men arrested that day were transferred to a military camp in Modolo, 20 kilometers away, before taking them to a gendarmerie camp in Ségou. They were then taken to the central prison in Bamako on terrorism-related charges.
The traditional authority said that on May 9, soldiers returned to N'Dola and burned down parts of the village. Satellite imagery captured on May 25 shows dozens of burned houses in the southern half of the village.
Barikoro, May 8
On May 8, Malian forces and the Wagner Group killed two men and a boy in Barikoro, a village in a JNIM-controlled area. Witnesses said that they came from the Sokolo military base - about 30 kilometers west - and arrived in the village on motorbikes and about 10 military vehicles, including armored cars, looking for ethnic Fulani men, whom they accused of collaborating with JNIM.
A mechanic said that he advised a 34-year-old Fulani man to leave his garage when he heard that "Malian and white soldiers" were searching for ethnic Fulani men. After the man left, the mechanic heard several gunshots.
"I found my cousin's body on the west side of the village with eight gunshots: in the forehead, the head, the back, and the legs," a relative of the victim said. "Meters away we found the bodies of two Fulani men also riddled by bullets, so we dug three holes and covered them with sand."
In a May 9 statement, the Malian army chief of staff said that on May 8, Malian forces conducted operations in Massabougou, Barikoro, Bassimoto, Maraba-Were, and Dagabory, in Ségou region, neutralizing "several terrorists" and seizing weapons and ammunition. But residents and relatives told Human Rights Watch that those killed in Barikoro were all civilians.
Relatives and witnesses compiled a list with the victims' names and ages: 34, 25, and 16.
Ala, August 9, and Dounkala, August 16
Malian forces and the Wagner Group went to Ala village on August 9 and Dounkala village, five kilometers away, on August 16, in an area where the JNIM regularly attacks security forces.
In Ala, the forces apprehended and forcibly disappeared two men, one of whom had been wounded. In Dounkala, they killed one man and forcibly disappeared two others.
Witnesses said that soldiers and Wagner fighters, both wearing Malian army uniforms and carrying Kalashnikov-type assault rifles, came from a military base in Diabaly, respectively 6 and 12 kilometers from Dounkala and Ala. They said the uniformed men went door to door and rounded up all the men outside the mosque to interrogate them. Witnesses said the soldiers targeted the villages because they suspected residents of collaborating with the JNIM.
"They asked me if the jihadists collect the zakat [a religious tax]," said a man, 42, from Ala. "I said yes. They asked me if we like it, and I said no, but we have no choice; we are afraid because they are armed."
"The Wagner [fighters] asked me questions about the jihadists: who they are, where they stay, if they come to the village," said a man, 42, from Dounkala. "They interrogated all the men and took pictures of us."
Enforced Disappearances in Ala
A 50-year-old resident said that two men had arrived in the village during the military operation and then attempted to flee, "so a Wagner [fighter] first shot in the air to stop them, before shooting one of the two in the foot ... and catching both."
Human Rights Watch obtained the men's names. Witnesses said that their relatives have searched for them in vain at various military bases and police stations in Ségou region. The authorities have not disclosed their whereabouts.
Killing, Enforced Disappearances in DounkalaWitnesses in Dounkala said that dozens of Wagner fighters accompanied by at least three Malian soldiers entered the village on foot and killed a 19-year-old man.
A resident said that during the interrogations outside the mosque, he "heard a gunshot," and then later found out that a man had been killed in his home. "His mother told me that when Wagner [fighters] ordered him to go to the mosque, he refused and called them 'kuffar' [non-believers]," he said. "So, a Wagner [fighter] shot him. I saw the body with a bullet wound in the chest."
The Wagner fighters and the Malian soldiers also arrested two men whose whereabouts remain unknown. "The soldiers blindfolded them and left with them towards Diabaly," said a witness. "We don't know where they are. Their families are afraid of asking questions; they think they can also be targeted."
Toulé, August 15On August 15, Malian forces and the Wagner Group carried out a military operation in Toulé village, killing seven men and burning dozens of homes. Witnesses said that the uniformed men, coming from Nampala with dozens of military vehicles, including armored cars, surrounded the village at about 3 p.m. and went door to door searching for men.
"One Malian soldier and two Wagner [fighters] came to my home and took me to a place where they had rounded up all the women and children," a 50-year-old woman said. "They set fire to all the homes. Two hours later, they told us to leave and go to Nampala, 15 kilometers away."
A farmer said that he hid in an irrigation canal in his rice field and heard "people shouting and flames coming out from the village. ... [T]he following day, I returned to Toulé and found the bodies of seven villagers, their hands tied up behind their backs, blindfolded, and with their throats slit. The village had been burned."
Human Rights Watch received a list compiled by witnesses with the names of the seven victims, all were men, ages 18 to 60.
Kolima, August 21
On August 21, Malian forces and the Wagner Group carried out an operation in Kolima village, killing four men. Witnesses said that uniformed men went door to door and rounded up all the men outside the village mosque. "When we were all sitting at the mosque, we heard several gunshots," said a 45-year-old man. "Soldiers said they shot at people who attempted to flee because they are suspects, and that nothing will happen to us if we remain calm, but if we try to escape, they will kill us."
A 55-year-old man said that when the soldiers left, they found the bodies of four villagers, including the village chief, his brother, his nephew, and another man. "The bodies were riddled with bullets," he said. "The village chief had been shot three times in the shoulders, the others in the heads and legs."
Human Rights Watch received a list compiled by witnesses with the names of the four victims, ages 28 to 65.
Ndorgollé, October 8
Dozens of Malian soldiers and about 10 Wagner fighters carried out an operation in Ndorgollé village on October 8. Witnesses said the army was retaliating against the community for allegedly collaborating with JNIM.
Witnesses said that the uniformed soldiers arrived in Ndorgollé from Nampala military base, 20 kilometers away, at about 8 a.m. in 23 military vehicles, including at least two armored cars, and surrounded the village. The soldiers killed two men and arrested three others.
"They asked an older man where his son was," said a 28-year-old herder. "He replied he didn't know. So, one soldier shot him in the chest point-blank. After that, his son came out and was shot in the head."
The herder said that the soldiers then stormed the village's central market and arrested three men. "They took them in the direction of Nampala," said a man, 40, who was at the market.
Human Rights Watch received two lists compiled by residents of Ndorgollé and relatives of the victims with the names of the two men killed and the three arrested. Human Rights Watch also spoke to a traditional authority in Nampala who said that on October 8 and 9, Malian forces and the Wagner Group searched the Nampala area, "killing at least two men in Ndorgollé and arbitrarily arresting at least 22 others," including in the villages of Ndorgollé, Sekere Tamba, Siguere Fangui, Toulé, Bertouma, and Sikere Seyna.
International media also reported that military operations were taking place in several villages of the Nampala district, including Ndorgollé, on October 8 and 9, resulting in the killing of several civilians.
Mopti Region
Diyane, July 12
On July 12, Malian forces and the Wagner Group killed two men in Diyane, a village controlled by the JNIM. Witnesses said that scores of Malian soldiers and Wagner fighters came from the military base in Niafunké, about 15 kilometers from Diyane, in about 30 military vehicles, including armored cars.
A woman from Diyane said that two Wagner fighters and a Malian soldier came to her home and arrested her 45-year-old husband, because "he was not able to prove that he did not own a walkie-talkie," evidence of a JNIM affiliation. She said that the soldiers blindfolded him then drove off with him. Later, she said, "villagers informed me that he had been killed alongside another man." This victim's 47-year-old brother said that when the soldiers left, he found his brother's body and another body "with their throats slit, in a pool of blood."
Kidal Region
Tinzaouaten, August 25
On August 25, the Malian armed forces reported that their military drones targeted armed group fighters, vehicles, and equipment in the town of Tinzaouaten. The same day, ethnic Tuareg separatist rebels from the armed group formerly known as the Permanent Strategic Framework (Cadre stratégique permanent, CSP) and renamed Azawad Liberation Front (Front de libération de l'Azawad, FLA) in November said that strikes killed 21 civilians, including 11 children.
Witnesses said the first drone strike, at about 11 a.m., struck vehicles parked in front of a pharmacy, while the second, about 10 minutes later, in the same place, killed seven civilians, including five children, ages 14 to 16.
A 52-year-old man lost three sons in the strikes, two of whom were children under 16. He said:
I heard the two strikes, and the fear of a third one prevented me from rushing to the scene. ... So, the bodies of my children remained there until the early evening when I finally saw them, all hit by shrapnel. ... We buried them in a single hole without taking off their clothes, just 900 meters from the place of the strike.
Human Rights Watch reviewed a list compiled by relatives with the names and ages of the victims, and geolocated four photographs, two sent by relatives to Human Rights Watch, and two posted online showing bodies, including of children, at the strike site.
Abuses by Islamist Armed Groups
Ménaka Region
Ménaka, July 19
On July 19, the ISGS attacked a camp hosting about 200 ethnic Dawsahak displaced people on the outskirts of Ménaka city, killing at least seven men, including four older men, and injuring two women.
Witnesses said that the attack was in apparent retaliation against Dawsahak people, a Tuareg ethnic group whom the ISGS accuses of collaborating with the JNIM. The Dawsahak militia, known as the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (Mouvement pour le salut de l'Azawad, MSA-D), once allied with the Malian government following a 2015 peace agreement that the Malian authorities declared void in January. The militia carried out attacks against the ISGS in Mali's northeast, at times reportedly siding with the JNIM.
A 50-year-old mother of nine said:
The assailants came into my tent where I was sitting with my husband. ... One shot him at point-blank, on the right ear, and the bullet went through his head leaving a big hole. And then he fired another bullet at my husband's chest. He fell on his back and died instantly before my eyes.
An 18-year-old woman said:
I hid in a shed. ... The terrorists saw me and shot. ... I felt that something went into my back, I touched it, and my hands were covered with blood. I understood that it was a bullet, it came out of the right side of my breast. I remained there until an ambulance came to pick me up with two other wounded people to take us to the Ménaka health center.
Witnesses said that the Malian army and the Dawsahak militia intervened to repel ISGS fighters, evacuate the injured, and bury the dead. "The assailants shot for about 20 minutes, then the army and the militia came in response," said the 42-year-old man. "If they didn't come, it would have been a carnage."
Human Rights Watch received a list with the names of the seven people killed, all men ages 34 to 86, compiled by relatives and survivors.
Bandiagara RegionArson and Killings in Doucombo and Pignari Bana Districts, June-NovemberBetween June and November, the JNIM attacked at least ten villages in the Doucombo district area and at least one in the Pignari Bana district area, burning over 1,000 homes and looting over 3,500 livestock, witnesses said.
On the basis of witness accounts, on June 25, JNIM fighters attacked Tégourou village, burning at least 10 homes; on July 1, they attacked Djiguibombo, burning several homes and the local health center; on August 24, they attacked Tilé village and burned over 500 homes; on September 29, they attacked and burned at least 450 homes, including at least 150 in Pel Kanda and 100 in Songo, Ndiombo, and Antaba villages; on October 13 and 14, they attacked the villages of Danibombo 2 and Danibombo 1 respectively, burning at least 140 homes in both localities; on November 8, they attacked Allaye-Kokolo village, burning at least 75 homes and 20 shops.
JNIM fighters also killed two men in Tégourou, at least ten people in Djiguibombo, a man in Pel Kanda, four men and a woman in Songo, five men in Danibombo 2, and injured six men in Danibombo 1. They also killed nine men in Allaye-Kokolo on November 8 and seven other men and a boy in the same village on November 19.
Witnesses said the attacks were in apparent retaliation against communities whom the JNIM accused of collaborating with the Dan Na Ambassagou militia.
In a video circulated on social media on September 30, JNIM fighters claimed responsibility for the September 29 attacks in Pel Kanda, Songo, Ndiombo, and Antaba.
Witnesses described similar modus operandi for the ten attacks, with scores of JNIM fighters, wearing headscarves and armed with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles, riding motorbikes and attacking the villages, setting homes on fire, and killing residents who had not fled.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 residents from these ten villages who either witnessed the JNIM's arson attacks or assessed the burning when they returned to their homes.
A man, 45, from Tilé said:
When the attack started at about 5 p.m., I hid in the bush. I returned the day after to assess the losses. I lost 50 sheep, 60 goats, and 2 donkeys. My house was completely burned. The attackers burned down over 500 homes and looted 431 sheep, 678 goats, and 364 cows. They also burned 12 bicycles and 6 motorcycles.
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A man, 39, from Songo said:
I saw the terrorists coming with a lot of motorcycles. They were shooting and shouting "Allah Akbar." We all fled. I went to Bandiagara. I alerted the Malian army and the next day, with a military escort, and five other men, we returned to Songo. It was totally burned, more than 100 houses and granaries gone up in smoke. A thousand cows were taken ... 530 people from Songo were displaced in Bamako and more than 5,400 in Bandiagara.
A comparison of satellite imagery captured on June 23 and June 27 shows new burn marks on the village of Tégourou. Over the villages of Pel Kanda, Songo, Ndiombo, and Antaba, new burn marks are visible on imagery captured on October 4 that were not visible on September 22.
A man from Allaye-Kokolo said:
The JNIM had threatened the village via a WhatsApp [text] message about one week before the attack. The message said that if we didn't stop collaborating with the Dan Na Ambassagou militia, JNIM fighters would come for us. ... On the day of the attack, I saw the assailants coming and immediately fled into the bush. ... When I returned to the village, I saw dozens of homes and shops burned to the ground, along with everything inside.
Human Rights Watch analyzed and georeferenced a video posted on social media on November 9 to the village of Allaye-Kokolo, located on National Road 15 between Mopti and Bandiagara. The video shows armed men, some on motorbikes, on the road, while buildings are burning around. A man can be heard speaking in Fulfulde, saying "God is great, Allaye-Kokolo is burning." Satellite images show burn marks appearing over the village sometime between November 7 and November 9. High-resolution infrared satellite imagery from November 19 shows the burned buildings visible in the video. The market also appears completely burned, and houses inside the village appear possibly burned as well.
Witnesses said that scores of JNIM fighters attacked Tégourou on June 25 and killed two men, ages 25 and 26. One witness said the victims were his friends: "I saw their bodies; they had both been shot in the head."
Witnesses in Djiguibombo said that JNIM fighters rode on motorcycles into the village on July 1 as residents celebrated a wedding and opened fire on villagers. "They yelled 'Allah Akbhar' and shot at us," a 50-year-old farmer said. "I saw at least 10 bodies on the ground."
Human Rights Watch received a list compiled by witnesses and residents with the names of 10 people killed, all men ages 25 to 67. In a July 3 statement, the governor of the Bandiagara region said that on July 1, armed groups attacked Djiguibombo and Sokorokanda villages, killing 21 people and looting and burning the health center in Djiguibombo only.
International media and a Malian civil society organization that reported the attack also provided a death toll of at least 21 civilians killed. However, Human Rights Watch was not able to confirm this information.
Witnesses in Pel Kanda said that JNIM fighters killed a 50-year-old farmer during the attack. "We found his body in the fields, lying on his back," a man from Pel Kanda said. "He had been shot in the head."
An older couple in Songo village was found burned to death in their home. Their 45-year-old son said he returned to Songo the day after the attack and found the bodies of his parents charred, "leaving only skeletons." Another man from Songo said he found the bodies of three men with psychological disabilities in the middle of the village, "their hands tied behind their back" and with bullet wounds in the heads.
Witnesses in Danibombo 2 said that JNIM fighters killed five men, ages 18 to 60. They said that four had their throats slit and one was shot.
A 37-year-old man from Danibombo 2, who lost one brother and two uncles, said:
My relatives were slaughtered. We found their bodies and those of two other people in the village and its vicinity. The bodies were in an advanced state of putrefaction so we couldn't move them, and we buried them where we found them.
Witnesses in Danibombo 1 said that six men, ages 34 to 65, were injured by gunshots as they fled the village during the attack. "We evacuated them to the Bandiagara hospital," said a resident. "One got a bullet in the left hand, one had a fracture in his foot, and the others were injured in the legs and feet."
Witnesses said that the JNIM attacked the village of Allaye-Kokolo twice, on November 8, killing nine men, and on November 19, killing seven men and one boy.
A 35-year-old man who witnessed the first attack said:
When they came [the first time], I was in my shop at the market with a friend. I saw them approaching with motorbikes, and I thought they were soldiers, because they were wearing military uniforms. But then, they came closer and started shooting screaming "Allah Akbar." They opened fire on me and my friend who fell on the spot.... I ran, and they chased me until I jumped into a ditch. They continued firing and chasing other people.
The man returned to the village the following day, escorted by Malian soldiers. He said that he and other villagers found the bodies of nine men scattered around the village:
My friend's body was still in front of the shop, he had a bullet wound in the head. ... We then picked up three bodies in the middle of village, three more at the northern exit of the village, and two bodies in the houses.... [A]ll of them were shot in the head, in the back and shoulders.... We buried them the same day in a mass grave.
Another man who witnessed the second attack said:
On the morning of November 19, with a group of about 12 people, we decided to go back to the village to collect some of our belongings, but we were caught by the JNIM. As soon as they [the fighters] spotted us, they started shooting. Some of us managed to escape, but others were shot and killed. I hid in the bush and when we were sure that the assailants had left, at around 3 p.m., we went back to take the bodies, which we buried in the nearby village of Kako.
Human Rights Watch received two lists, compiled by residents and relatives, with the names of the 17 victims, 16 men, ages 20 to 70, and a 14-year-old boy.
