Russia's 'Africa Corps' Massacres Villagers

Nairobi — 9 Civilians Killed, Homes Burned in Islamist Armed Group-Held Village 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." Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn 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. "A white guy [with] two walkie talkies looked like the commander. Every time he asked a question, he fired into the air." Another witness, a 57-year-old butcher, said he saw "seven pickup trucks with machine guns mounted on top and over 60 motorbikes, which carried Malian flags." The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM) has controlled Bombori since 2017 and has a base about a kilometer away. Witnesses said its fighters left the village the night before the attack. Since 2012, successive Mali governments have fought Islamist armed groups. After coups in 2020 and 2021 , the military junta expelled French and United Nations forces and consolidated ties with Russia. Since 2021, the junta had relied on the Russia-linked Wagner Group for security assistance. In June 2025, the Wagner Group announced that it was withdrawing from Mali after having "accomplished" its mission. The armed group was replaced by the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps, which has approximately the same troop strength , including many former Wagner fighters and some of the group's core leadership. Human Rights Watch has documented widespread abuses by the Malian army , the Wagner Group , and Africa Corps during counterinsurgency operations across Mali since 2021. Witnesses said that on July 10, Africa Corps forces shot at civilians fleeing Bombori before detaining and beating men and boys. "I saw two men fall under gunfire," said a 40-year-old man. "I looked to my left and saw two motorcycles with two white fighters, the one in front kept firing at the two men as they lay on the ground." He added that a Russian fighter then escorted him to a tree where dozens of men and boys were being held at gunpoint. "Russian fighters pointed their weapons at us, searched our pockets, took all our phones, and took pictures of us," he said. "A Russian [fighter] kicked us, another beat us with his gun, and I was hit several times in my back and chest ... while other fighters kept bringing in men they had arrested in

Source: Original reporting via AllAfrica Mali