HRW reports abuses by Malian forces and armed groups

Human Rights Watch said Monday that Malian forces and allied Africa Corps personnel, as well as armed opposition groups, committed abuses including attacks that killed civilians and the execution of captured soldiers. The rights group called on the African Union Peace and Security Council to act to prevent further abuses and urged independent investigations into violations by all sides. The report said two drone strikes by Malian forces damaged a health facility in Kidal on July 29 and hit a market in Bandiagara on August 19, killing six civilians and wounding at least 20. Human Rights Watch described the attacks as apparently indiscriminate. The findings also included an incident in Ségou in which soldiers killed five girls, and another in Mopti in which members of a militia allied with the military killed three civilians. Citing data from the conflict-monitoring group ACLED, Human Rights Watch reported 47 drone strikes by Malian forces and Africa Corps from April through August that killed 94 civilians. For the same months a year earlier, the group cited 22 strikes and 44 civilian deaths. The figures and incident accounts were reported by Human Rights Watch, drawing on ACLED...