While the war in Ukraine occupies the minds, the situation continues to deteriorate in Mali, and this since the beginning of the year. If the French soldiers of Operation Barkhane are in the process of leaving the country, on the spot, the list of jihadist attacks and accusations of abuses against Malian soldiers does not stop growing. And also, as in Ukraine, accusations of massacres of civilians.
>> franceinfo document. “All those who were afraid, they killed them”: in Mali, survivors testify and accuse the army of massacres
The situations in the two countries are different, but the Russian and Malian armies are both accused of massacring civilians. Since the beginning of March, the anti-terrorist operations, as Bamako calls them in the press releases, have degenerated at least three times: around thirty murders and disappearances of Mauritanian civilians near the Malian border, at the beginning of March, around thirty mass graves of bodies burned in Ségou at the same time, and, finally, in Moura, at the end of March this time, where at least 300 villagers were executed, according to an NGO. Each time, the survivors point to the Malian soldiers, accompanied by white men who do not speak French. Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group are suspected.
The UN would like to investigate, but, writing in a report presented on April 7, 2022 that “The Malian armed forces said in a press release that they had neutralized 203 terrorists who controlled the area. But at the same time, MINUSMA received testimonies of abuses against civilians”. Yes “the mission was able to carry out an aerial reconnaissance”the UN adds that “the Malian authorities did not accept that a detachment of blue helmets be deployed on the ground”.
The Malian General Staff has not responded to requests from franceinfo, but speaks on social networks of a “true professionalism” of its soldiers, and of “foreign disinformation”.
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These accusations of massacres do not really surprise France and the Europeans. They were, if not planned, at least foreseeable. The French soldiers thus confide that they suspected that with the arrival of Wagner’s mercenaries to replace them alongside the Malians, the risk of violent slippages was great. “The Malian armed forces were in a virtuous dynamic of increasing power. Passing under the control of Russian mercenaries is not good news for them, the abuses show it, thus considers Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesman for the Chief of Staff of the French armies. On is witnessing the reappearance of certain biases, and it is difficult to be optimistic for Mali in the months to come”.
In any war, civilians are the first victims. The jihadists massacre the villagers if they are not complacent enough with them, and the military massacres the villagers by designating them as terrorists. With, in the background, an army that remains corrupt, ethnic rivalries (Tuareg, Fulani, Dogon, etc.) and a thousand Russian mercenaries not well known for their discernment and respect for rights.
>> Operation Barkhane: France’s withdrawal divides Mali
The announced departure of French soldiers from Barkhane has changed the situation. Today, French soldiers in Mali are concentrating on closing the three remaining bases: Gossi very soon, Ménaka before the summer and Gao, the most important, at the start of the school year. They are also focusing on security around these bases and around the roads used by the logistics convoys of hundreds of trucks that are gradually moving thousands of tons of equipment. Jihadist groups therefore evolve more easily, as explained by Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesperson for the Chief of the Armed Forces.
“What must be understood is that the form of rupture with the countries that were allies or present in Mali since 2013 results in a disorganization of the Malian armed forces, and the end of a virtuous dynamic that “we had been observing for several months. It was expressed by almost permanent operations, and an almost permanent presence with the population”, explains the colonel.
“The fact of raising the operational tempo logically results in a lesser presence and therefore in greater freedom of action for armed terrorist groups.”
Colonel Pascal Ianniat franceinfo
The Barkhane “umbrella”, which was not 100% waterproof, lost effectiveness for the benefit of civilians with this announced withdrawal. A device that even closed completely for Malian soldiers, until the break between Paris and Bamako. When Malian soldiers were attacked even in their camps by hundreds of jihadists, Barkhane then quickly sent planes, drones and troops as reinforcements. But it’s over, because Bamako has banned part of its airspace to French flights.
Result : fighters from the Sahelian branch of Al Qaeda attacked Mondoro camp in early March, causing 70 casualties on the Malian armed forces side. A year ago, when this same base was attacked, French planes and helicopters dispersed the attackers.