Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has said Mali’s armed forces working with officers from the Wagner Group committed war crimes, including the murder and torture of civilians, during joint operations between 2023 and 2025 in the country.

The organisation, which cited its new report in a statement on Tuesday, also raised an alarm over violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, such as torture, enforced disappearance, and the pillaging and destruction of civilian property in the country.

It said the report was based on research conducted from 2025 to 2026 in ten localities in the Hodh ech-Chargui region of Mauritania where 290,000 Malian refugees were registered by UNHCR as of 31 July 2026. 

”No one is spared: War crimes committed by the Malian army and foreign allied forces along the Mauritanian border – documents the killings of at least 34 civilians in seven localities in Mali between June 2023 and December 2025, committed by the Malian armed forces (Forces armées maliennes – FAMa) and the Wagner Group (a Russian private military company active in Mali between late 2021 and June 2025),” the report read.

The Wagner Group is a Russian state-funded private military company operating as a proxy force for the Russian government in foreign conflicts.

The organisation noted that the report provided details of seven incidents during which 34 people were unlawfully killed in the Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu regions.

“Based on information gathered by Amnesty, none of the victims were taking direct part in hostilities at the time of their deaths. They were deliberately shot while trying to flee or after being arrested. Some had their throats slit, others were burnt alive or post-mortem,” it added.

According to the report, two drone strikes carried out by the FAMa targeted a market in Ejdeir and a family home in Tangata in the Timbuktu region, killing 23 people, including five children.

It stated, “Even if fighters or military objectives were present, attacking a market at a time when it was full of civilians in a manner that caused civilian casualties would be indiscriminate. Indiscriminate attacks that kill and injure civilians are war crimes if carried out intentionally or recklessly.”

Noting that the crimes were mostly committed by members of Wagner in the presence of FAMa members, Amnesty said 

those detained and tortured in the military camps were not brought before a judge.

Amnesty International’s Director for West and Central Africa, Marceau Sivieude, lamented that civilians were trapped in the conflict, paying the ultimate price amid widespread impunity.

“Our conclusions paint a harrowing picture of the lives of civilians trapped in the conflict, paying the ultimate price while impunity remains rampant. The Malian authorities cannot dismiss these serious allegations without opening impartial and effective investigations into the alleged crimes.

“They must protect civilians during military operations, comply with and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, urgently clarify the chain of command under which foreign personnel act in the country, and monitor their conduct through an independent, domestic accountability mechanism,” Mr Sivieude said.

He urged the Malian authorities to ensure comprehensive accountability for war crimes committed against communities.

The organisation added that the FAMa, foreign military partners and members of armed groups suspected of war crimes must be investigated and prosecuted as required in proceedings that comply with the right to a fair trial, without recourse to the death penalty.