Madar (Bamako) - Human Rights Watch on Thursday, October 22, 2026, accused Mali's army and its ally, the Russia-controlled Africa Corps, of committing "new atrocities" against civilians in central Mali, including a drone strike that killed 8 civilians and the detention and torture of prisoners in a metal container at a military base in Sevare, according to a report by the group.
According to HRW, at around 10 a.m. on September 16, an apparently military drone dropped a munition on the outskirts of the village of Guelediye, in the Mopti region, killing eight men aged 25 to 40 and wounding six others who had gathered around a paid Starlink internet point. Witnesses said JNIM had a base in the village and that its fighters warned residents via WhatsApp before leaving; none of them were among the victims.
In a September 17 statement, the Malian army chief of staff said units had spotted "terrorist elements hidden under vegetation cover" northeast of Guelediye, with "war materiel and satellite communication equipment", and "neutralised" them.
The report also describes dozens of people held between May and August in a shipping container with no windows or sanitation at the Sevare base. Four former detainees said they were tortured, including with electric shocks and simulated drowning; one said eight people died during his detention. HRW said families paid for their release.
The group said it interviewed 15 people between August and September and wrote to the Malian and Russian defence ministers in early October without receiving a reply. Its Sahel researcher, Ilaria Allegrozzi, urged pressure on Malian authorities to conduct "credible" investigations and called on the UN Human Rights Council to step up its monitoring.
