The Malian government categorically denied allegations the army carried out mass summary executions of civilians in the centre of the country earlier in March. It is stated that 57 people were killed by army in a day declaring them rebels .Nearly 2,000 civilians were killed between February 2021 to February 2022, with two-thirds of the deaths attributed to armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Its statement follows the U.N. peacekeeping mission's decision on Friday to investigate the killing of dozens of people in the rural commune of Diabaly.
A video circulating on social media this week showed dozens of badly-burned bodies that were blindfolded and had their hands bound together. Some of them appeared to have holes in the back of their heads.
An official in central Mali, who asked not to be named, said the bodies were found on Tuesday night and are believed to be people who were arrested by the Malian army, some on Feb. 20 and others on March 1.
The government said any allegations of the army's involvement were completely false. "This act in no way constitutes the modus operandi of our forces," it said, announcing its own investigation.
The U.N. has repeatedly accused Malian soldiers of summarily executing civilians and suspected militants over the course of their decade-long fight against groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
The military has in some cases acknowledged that its forces were implicated in executions and other abuses, but few soldiers have faced criminal charges.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali said on Friday it was investigating allegations that dozens of people were massacred in the centre of the country.
A video circulating on social media since Thursday shows dozens of badly-burned bodies with their eyes blindfolded and their hands bound together. Some of them appear to have holes in the back of their heads.
An official in central Mali, who asked not to be named, said the video shows the bodies of 35 men that were found on Tuesday night in the rural commune of Diabaly, an area where Islamist militants have been battling Malian soldiers.
The official said there were no eyewitnesses to the men's deaths but that they are believed to be people who were arrested by the Malian army, some on Feb. 20 and others on March 1.
A senior Malian military officer, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the video was filmed in Diabaly but that the circumstances of the deaths were not yet clear.
Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, said the mission's human rights division was investigating the deaths.
"We are concerned about these allegations and information, as well as these horrible images of people killed in circumstances that are not yet clear," he told Reuters.
Mali's military spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.N. has repeatedly accused Malian soldiers of summarily executing civilians and suspected militants over the course of their decade-long fight against groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
The military has in some cases acknowledged that its forces were implicated in executions and other abuses, but few soldiers have faced criminal charges.
Violence and instability have been endemic in Mali since 2012 when Tuareg separatists and Islamist armed groups seized territory in the north following a military coup. Despite the presence of international forces, including a UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA), the conflict in Mali has shifted from a separatist rebellion into inter-communal and extremist violence. Since Islamist armed groups expanded their activities from northern to central Mali during 2015, violence has spilled into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as parts of southern Mali. Between 2015-2021, violent attacks in the Central Sahel increased eight-fold while the number of fatalities grew more than ten-fold.