UN rights office deplores alleged killing, torture of Malian soldiers by insurgents

DAKAR, July 23 - The U.N. human rights office on Thursday called for an investigation into reports of the torture and killing of surrendering Malian soldiers during an ambush of a military convoy by insurgents and separatists, saying such actions would amount to a war crime.

• The ambush occurred on Saturday in northern Mali between the town of Anefis and the city of Gao, according to statements from Mali's armed forces, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), and the al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). A source close to the FLA told Reuters that more than 50 pro-government fighters were killed. Reuters could not independently confirm the death toll.

• JNIM has shared footage online that appeared to show soldiers surrendering following the ambush, with their hands behind their heads, as well as rebels firing at some of their captives. Reuters has not independently verified the footage.

• "There needs to be a thorough and independent investigation into the circumstances of this incident, including the actions contained in the horrendous footage circulated online appearing to show FLA/JNIM members firing at the soldiers after they surrendered," Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement on Thursday. The office deplores "the reported torture and killing of dozens of surrendering Malian soldiers," he said.

• JNIM could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the FLA, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said the group supported independent investigations of all human rights abuses committed in the region and that the footage described by the U.N. human rights office "must first be authenticated".

• JNIM and the FLA staged nationwide attacks in April that killed the defence minister, hit the airport and forced the army to abandon several locations. They followed that with an attempt on July 4 to seize Anefis, though the army has retained control of that town.

• The mounting violence poses a threat to Mali's military-led government which took power in coups in 2020 and 2021 and promised to improve security in the landlocked Sahel country. REUTERS