Air strikes by the African Corps in Mali reportedly killed eight civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch accuses Africa Corps of killing eight civilians in airstrikes carried out on June 15 in Kyrnia, in the Mopti region. No JNIM fighters were among the victims, contrary to statements made by the Malian army's Russian partners.

Air strikes on June 15th on the village of Kyrnia, in Mali's Mopti region, killed eight civilians. This is the conclusion reached by Human Rights Watch after an investigation into these operations carried out by Africa Corps, the Russian paramilitary group active in the Sahel.

The organization directly disputes the official version. The Russian partners of the Malian army had claimed that fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) were among the victims. Human Rights Watch denies this: no member of this jihadist organization was harmed in the strikes.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at the NGO, led this investigation. She emphasizes the difficulty of establishing the facts in a region where access remains very limited and where official accounts are rarely subjected to independent verification.

Africa Corps, which succeeded the Wagner Group in Mali, has been operating alongside the Malian Armed Forces for several years. The accusations made by Human Rights Watch add to a series of reports of abuses attributed to this force in the country.