MALI Republic of Mali Head of state: Bah Ndaw (replaced Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in September) Head of government: Moctar Ouane (replaced Boubou Cissé in September) Armed groups and security forces committed crimes under international law with impunity. Police used excessive force against protesters and others. Activists and officials affiliated to the former government were arbitrarily arrested and detained. The authorities failed to act to protect women and girls from female genital mutilation (FGM). People were discriminated against based on their perceived social status. The ongoing conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic seriously undermined the rights to health and education.
BACKGROUND Legislative elections held between March and April led to a political crisis. In June, a coalition of opposition groups and religious leaders formed the June 5 Movement, which contested the election results and demanded the President’s resignation. In August, a National Committee for the People’s Salvation deposed the President and his government via a coup. A transitional government was formed in October. The security situation remained precarious in the context of the ongoing conflict, particularly in the central regions where different armed groups operate, including the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and self-defined “self-defence militias”.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS Armed groups committed war crimes and other abuses, including dozens of attacks against civilians. According to the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), in January a Dozo group (traditional hunters) attacked Sinda village, killing 14 civilians. In February, Dan na Ambassagou, an armed group,
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
attacked Ogossagou village, killing at least 35 civilians and injuring three others, while the fate of 19 people remained unaccounted for. In July, gunmen thought to be affiliated with the GSIM attacked several villages in the Tori and Diallassagou communes, killing at least 32 civilians. Armed groups also targeted MINUSMA. As of September, two UN personnel were killed and 40 others injured. Between September and the year’s end, armed groups besieged Farabougou village in the Ségou region, preventing villagers from accessing their farmland and moving freely.
Abductions At least three candidates were abducted while campaigning during the legislative elections. All were released. On 25 March, Soumaila Cissé, leader of the opposition, and five members of his campaign team were abducted by members of the GSIM in Niafounké town in the Timbuktu region. His bodyguard was killed during the abduction and, although all the campaign team were released in the following days, Soumaila Cissé was not released until 8 October along with one French and two Italian hostages.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS The Malian army committed war crimes and other human rights violations against civilian populations during their operations. Between 3 February and 10 March, at least 23 civilians were killed by soldiers in Niono Cercle in the Ségou region, and at least 27 others were subjected to enforced disappearance. In June, according to MINUSMA, 43 civilians were killed by members of the National Guard in the villages of Binédama and Yangassadiou, following a patrol with a Dozo group. The army publicly acknowledged the killings and, despite its promise to investigate, no further information was made public at the end of the year.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE The security forces used excessive force, including unlawful use of lethal force, to disperse protests.
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