In a report published Thursday, July 13, the human rights NGO Human Rights Watch appealed to the Bamako authorities on terrorist violence, after having documented the ” large-scale murders, rapes and looting committed since the beginning of the year in northeastern Mali, mainly by the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group. Human Rights Watch also reacts to the departure of the Minusma, which must leave the country by the end of the year.
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Konga, Bourra, Labezzanga, Teguerert, among others: Human Rights Watch has worked on eight specific cases of terrorist attacks carried out over the past six months in the regions of Ménaka and by Gao, where the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State (IS) group launched a major offensive a year and a half ago against its rival, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim). The latter is linked to the al-Qaeda group.
The fighting has clearly turned to the advantage of IS in this part of the country, while the Jnim is the most present terrorist group in the center of the country and in other parts of the North. Thirty-nine direct witnesses and a dozen representatives of civil, local and international society report attacks on villages by terrorists on motorcycles or pick-ups.
Villagers say they received ultimatums from IS fighters, giving them three days to flee or they would all be executed. One witness recounts women raped by terrorists, others describe summary executions, including of minors, women and the elderly. Others report cattle rustling, an essential resource for these herding communities.
” The Malian army and Minusma had forces in the towns of Gao, Ménaka and Ansongo “, notes Human Rights Watch. But ” unlike in central Mali, the patrols of these soldiers remained limited, as did their ability to protect civilians outside urban centers “.
Human Rights Watch mentions several hundred deaths in total – without being able to cross-check a more precise assessment – and thousands of displaced persons: more than 375,000 according to the United Nations. The NGO therefore calls on the Malian transitional authorities to ” redouble efforts to protect civilians “.
Concern due to the withdrawal of the Minusma
Worrying about current withdrawal of the Minusma which is due to be completed by the end of December, the organization also calls on them to ” work more closely with regional bodies and donor governments to address the growing security and humanitarian vacuum “.
The human rights organization recalls that the Minusma also had a mandate to monitor human rights violations in Mali. She therefore recommends that Bamako ” continue to work with the United Nations human rights office and with the United Nations independent expert on human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine “.
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