More than 200 jihadists killed, around fifty arrested. This is the official assessment of the Malian military operation carried out last week on the village of Moura, in central Mali. But this anti-terrorist action is also the subject of numerous allegations of violence committed by Malian soldiers and their Russian auxiliaries. The United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma), wishes to carry out an investigation, but nothing is yet guaranteed.
“ There is an imbroglio around authorization requests », Explains a UN source involved in the organization of the mission supposed to investigate in Moura. Who hopes that the Malian political and military authorities will eventually give the green light.
The Malian army claims to open investigations systematically in the event of allegations of abuses against the Fama, but human rights defenders, Malians and internationals, want an independent investigation. Independent and fast.
Because some local sources fear that the passage of time could be used to hide evidence or put pressure on residents. The testimonies of bodies burned and buried in the chain in mass graves already suggest that the precise number of victims will be long and difficult to establish.
Difficult to investigate
“ It is always possible to investigate remotely, to identify and hear witnesses, explains all the same a regular of this kind of work. But obviously, it’s less precise “. In the past, the Minusma was able to investigate numerous allegations of abuses committed by Malian or French forces, as in Bounty, a little over a year ago. The UN report was overwhelming for the Barkhane force. But the arrival of Russian auxiliaries alongside the Malian soldiers and the secrecy maintained by Bamako around their activities have considerably limited access to certain information and to certain areas.
When the Malian army came to make an assault, it was important that our republican army act in order to be able to properly identify, target the terrorists, neutralize them and not mix things up. This amalgamation, instead of reassuring the population, had the negative consequence of distancing these populations.
Ismaël Sacko (African Democratic Socialist Party): “A good part of the civilian population has been targeted”
►Also read: What really happened in Moura?