BAMAKO (Reuters) – Malian armed forces arrested and killed around two dozen Fulani civilians who were rounded up at a livestock market in a central region of the West African country, a local activist told Reuters.
Women in the town of Diafarabe, where the incident took place, led a rare public protest on Wednesday over their disappearance.
“A survivor who managed to flee from Diafarabe alerted and said that they killed them, executed some of them, slit their throats and buried them in a mass grave,” the activist said.
The activist, who could not be named for safety reasons, is close to Tabital Pulaaku, an international association that represents the Fulani people.
The incident took place on Monday in a rural area on the banks of the Niger river, the activist said. The men were loaded onto a canoe and taken to an island cemetery, where they were killed.
Mali’s armed forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
The armed forces are backed by Russian mercenaries, previously known as Wagner and now Africa Corps, who could not be reached for comment.
Human Rights Watch has accused both groups of committing atrocities and serious abuses against civilians.
The U.N. last month called for an investigation after decomposing bodies were found on the outskirts of a military camp in the southwestern Koulikoro region of Mali.
The country’s military government, which seized power following coups in 2020 and 2021, has expelled French and other Western forces and turned to Russia for military support.
Public frustration with the ruling junta is growing over the postponement of elections and a crackdown on political freedom.
Hundreds of people gathered this month to call for multi-party elections, chanting slogans like “down with dictatorship, long live democracy”. The protests followed a national council recommendation to grant leader Assimi Goita a new five-year mandate and dissolve all political parties.
(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Jessica Donati and Ed Osmond)
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