Amnesty International has accused members of Mali’s armed forces and Wagner Group personnel of committing war crimes, including the unlawful killing and torture of civilians, during joint military operations between 2023 and 2025.

The organisation said at least 34 civilians were unlawfully killed in seven localities, while others were allegedly tortured to death, forcibly disappeared, or subjected to severe abuse and destruction of property.

A scene at the war zone

These were contained in a new report released on Tuesday, titled ‘No one is spared’: War crimes committed by the Malian army and foreign allied forces along the Mauritanian border, based on research conducted between 2025 and 2026.

According to Amnesty, the 34 killings occurred in the Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu regions, with victims allegedly deliberately shot while fleeing or after being arrested. Some were reportedly subjected to throat slitting, while others were burnt alive or after their deaths.

The report cited an incident at Tin Adanda, a hamlet in the Timbuktu region, where four people were allegedly killed on February 12, 2025, during a joint patrol by the Forces armées maliennes (FAMa) and Wagner personnel.

Amnesty said a survivor, who had fled to Mberra in Mauritania, reported that two of her sons and a cousin were arrested and subsequently killed.

The organisation also documented two drone strikes by the FAMa which it said killed at least 23 people, including five children.

One strike hit a market in Ejdeir on March 16, 2025, killing 16 people and injuring seven others, while another struck a family home in Tangata in November 2025.

Amnesty said it found no evidence of armed group members or military objectives at either site and called for the incidents to be investigated as possible war crimes.

The report further documented alleged torture at military bases in Léré and Nampala. Amnesty said it interviewed 15 male survivors and obtained corroborating accounts from witnesses who reported torture involving at least 30 people.

Victims were allegedly suspended by their arms from metal bars, subjected to simulated drowning, beaten with iron bars and sticks, and given electric shocks.

Amnesty said five people died at the military bases as a result of torture and poor detention conditions, while detainees were denied access to lawyers, families and judicial proceedings.