Wagner Group

A new report by Amnesty International documents war crimes committed in Mali by the Malian army and the Wagner Group, including killings by gunfire, beheadings and victims burned alive. French-language media such as L'Humanité and RFI are covering the findings, which detail assassinations and torture attributed to the two forces operating together in the Sahel conflict.

Amnesty International has published a new report presenting what it calls damning evidence of war crimes committed in Mali by state armed forces and personnel from the Russian Wagner Group. The findings add to mounting documentation of abuses against civilians in the country's conflict, and are drawing attention to the human rights record of Mali's military government and its Russian partners.

Amnesty International has accused the Malian armed forces and the Russian Wagner Group of committing war crimes in Mali. The human rights organisation says the allegations relate to abuses committed during operations against armed groups in the country, where Russian mercenaries have been fighting alongside government troops. The accusation adds to mounting international scrutiny of Mali's security partnership with Moscow and the conduct of its military campaign.

Amnesty International says Mali's armed forces and fighters from Russia's Wagner Group have committed war crimes, citing growing concern over abuses tied to their joint operations against armed groups. The allegation intensifies scrutiny of Mali's military government and its partnership with Wagner, which has already drawn international criticism, sanctions debates and questions over accountability for civilian deaths.

Amnesty International accuses the Malian army and the Wagner paramilitary group of committing war crimes in Mali. Between June 2023 and December 2025, the rights group documented the killing of at least 34 civilians in seven villages across the Segou, Mopti and Timbuktu regions. The findings add to long-standing allegations of abuses by Malian forces and Russian-linked fighters against civilians.