₦airaland Forum

Russian forces rape, behead and gouge out victims’ organs in Mali

Russian soldiers are raping and beheading civilians and gouging out their organs in a supposed fight against extremism in Mali.

Moscow’s Africa Corps appears to have taken over from the disbanded Wagner Group mercenary organisation, which was also accused of war crimes in Africa.

Witnesses say the unit has shot civilians on sight and harvested their organs, an investigation by the Associated Press has found.

“It’s a scorched earth policy,” said a Malian village chief who fled the Russian forces. “The soldiers speak to no one. Anyone they see, they shoot. No questions, no warning. People don’t even know why they are being killed.”

West Africa’s Sahel has become the world’s deadliest hotspot for extremist violence, with thousands of people killed in recent years.

The military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have abandoned Western partners and turned to Russia for help against al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked fighters.

Two refugees showed videos of burned villages to the Associated Press. Two others said they had found their loved ones’ bodies with their liver and kidneys missing.

“Only the name was changed [from Wagner to Africa Corps],” one local told AP. “The clothes, the vehicles, the people stayed the same. The methods stayed the same, and even became worse.”

Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed that the Africa Corps was operating in Mali “at the request of the Malian authorities”. Malian officials have not publicly acknowledged the Russian presence.

The Telegraph reported last month that Russia has become Mali’s main security partner in the fight against al-Qaeda for control of the west African nation.

The Africa Corps formed after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner founder, died in a suspicious plane crash in 2023 following his armed rebellion against Vladimir Putin. Analysts estimate 2,000 of its fighters operate in Mali.

One refugee, Mougaloa, said masked “white men” killed her 20-year-old son three months ago after Malian soldiers questioned him about militants.

In October, the men returned and abducted her daughter Fatma. The family has not heard from her.

“We were so scared,” the woman said. “We are hoping she will get here at some point.” She added that the men repeatedly used the word “pes”, a Russian slang term for dog

Another woman, Fatma, said forces had looted her village of Kurmare last month, killing men and taking jewellery.

She found her son shot dead at his shop, and her daughter died from seizures while fleeing to Mauritania.

Civilian deaths blamed on Russians dropped to 447 this year from 911 last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. But Heni Nsaibia, an analyst, said actual numbers may be higher because “people are more scared to report”.

A UN peacekeeping mission withdrew from Mali in 2023, and the country left the International Criminal Court this year.

Eduardo Gonzalez Cueva, a UN independent expert, said Mali’s junta, which took power in a 2021 coup, ignored his visit requests and questionnaires this year.

LagosOrigin:
Africa bad leadership will sooner or later send the continent back to the stone age .

Look at what's happening all around Africa and Nigeria my home country, you will see that the problem is always bad leaders. Bad leadership gives room for uprising and separatism.

Africans must rise above hate and tribalism and hold the leaders accountable or we risk being enslaved again in this 21st century.

LagosOrigin:
Africa bad leadership will sooner or later send the continent back to the stone age .

Look at what's happening all around Africa and Nigeria my home country, you will see that the problem is always bad leaders. Bad leadership gives room for uprising and separatism.

Africans must rise above hate and tribalism and hold the leaders accountable or we risk being enslaved again in this 21st century.

Ewedegubbler:
Disengage yourselves from jihadism and Islamism. Then you’ll be free from military operations

owobokiri:
Fake propaganda by the West to stop Russia from helping African States

Ewedegubbler:
Disengage yourselves from jihadism and Islamism. Then you’ll be free from military operations

jimi4us:
This post is a sponsor post by French government and Nigerian government

allen113:
Fake news from the west to paint Russia bad

iLegendd:
The moment it saw it's a European reportage, I stopped reading.

They accuse Russia, China and others in everything, but if you allow them, they'll do evil. Always jealous.

allen113:
Fake news from the west to paint Russia bad