Mali's army and rebel opponents guilty of human rights violations, new report finds

Mali's army and its Russian paramilitary allies have killed civilians in violation of international law, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. The army's rebel opponents have done the same, the report claims. The international NGO is calling on the African Union to urgently take action to prevent further atrocities. The report is based on interviews between July and September with 30 people in central and northern Mali, including rights activists, community leaders, journalists and a Malian soldier. HRW said it had evidence of indiscriminate drone attacks carried out by the army, killing six people and injuring 20 others. It also accuses Malian soldiers of killing five girls in the central Segou region in July, while their militia allies killed three civilians later that month in Mopti region. The report cites abuses by the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM and Tuareg separatists, including the torture and execution of 19 Malian soldiers in the country's northeast.