Rights group: Mali’s army killed civilians

Malian troops and foreign soldiers gathered and fatally shot roughly 300 men in Moura, central Mali, in late March, Human Rights Watch reported Tuesday. The 300 included some suspected terrorists but mostly civilians in the worst single atrocity in Mali’s 10-year fight against Islamic extremists. Extremists linked to al-Qaeda have largely controlled Moura, taxing villagers and imposing strict Sharia law, according to residents. The rights group reported some of the foreign soldiers who participated in the killing might be Russian.

Why are Russians suspected? Witnesses identified many of the killers as white soldiers who didn’t speak French. The U.S. State Department confirmed in January that several hundred Russian mercenaries were deployed to Mali in March to fight extremists, and the Defense Department is concerned this group is linked to the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group. Mali’s defense ministry denied shooting 300 civilians, claiming it targeted only terrorists. Leaders reported they killed 203 people and arrested 51. The Human Rights Watch director said the Malian army is still responsible even if they employed foreign soldiers.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on the Central African Republic hiring the Wagner Group.