A book creates controversy in Bamako. In Mali: the Challenge of Terrorism in Africa, a Malian army colonel speaks of human rights violations by the Fama. The Malian Ministry of Defense has debunked these passages in the book which incriminate the country’s army.
1 min
With our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel
In the 400-page work, Colonel Apha Yaya Sangaré addresses the issue of human rights within the Malian army. “ Since 2016, he writes, the FDS carried out abuses against people accused of being part of terrorist groups “.
He also cites reports from international human rights organizations which denounce abuses attributed to the FDS on the ground, on an anti-terrorist mission.
The Malian Ministry of Defense did not appreciate it at all. In a press release, he condemned these comments, recalled that the book was released without a green light from the army and announced sanctions against the officer.
Another detail fuels the controversy. In the room where the book launch ceremony took place, the Minister of State for Territorial Administration and government spokesperson, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, was present. He is a fellow student of the author of the book, both are from the 23rd promotion of the Koulikoro officers’ school, located 50 km from Bamako.
Faced with the controversy, in a press release published this Saturday, the minister and spokesperson in turn stands out from the work. He claims to have only read the book in the room where the dedication ceremony took place.
Read alsoMali: new accusations of abuses targeting the Fama and Wagner in Adiora and Ménaka