Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps killed eight civilians, including three children, in Mali last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday, during air strikes the campaign group called “unlawfully indiscriminate”.
Established by Russia’s Defence Ministry, Africa Corps has largely taken over the mercenary Wagner Group’s activities on the continent and is backing operations by Mali’s military-led government against armed Islamist groups.
A HRW investigation found that an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kyrnia in the central Mopti region on June 15.
One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children and another child, while a second strike hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men, HRW said.
It added that no fighters from Jama’at Nusrat, the al Qaeda-linked group HRW said has controlled the village for the past six years were believed to have been killed.
“The strikes in Kyrnia did not appear to target specific military objectives, which would make them unlawfully indiscriminate,” the rights group said.
–Reuters–
