PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Rights group says security crisis deepens in Mali
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - A mass grave uncovered in central Mali is the latest grim confirmation that the security situation in the region has reached crisis point, human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), said on Tuesday.
In a statement made available to PANA, the human rights group said local witnesses in the village of Dogo identified on 22 March six bodies as people who had been arrested by the military three days earlier.
AI said it also documented an increase in attacks on civilians by armed groups including Ansar Dine and GSIM (Groupe de soutien à l’Islam et aux musulmans), and confirmed that 65 people, including children, have been killed by improvised explosives since the beginning of the year.
“The increase in attacks has also resulted in the closure of hundreds of schools, leaving more than 214,000 children deprived of education. When bodies are thrown into mass graves, children are killed in rockets attacks and fear forces teachers and students to abandon their classrooms, there is an urgent need for measures to protect civilians from these crimes under international law and prevent further human rights violations,” Gaetan Mootoo, AI's West Africa researcher said.
According to the statement, AI carries out research in the region of Mopti in February and March interviewing 70 persons, including officials, who confirmed the increase in attacks in the central region of Mopti.
The rights group pointed out that the increased presence of armed groups, which intensifies the recruitment of local supporters and members, exacerbates tensions between different ethnic groups.
AI said it received information on 65 people killed in attacks by armed groups using improvised explosive devices since the start of the year, with the largest number of attacks now taking place in the central regions of Mopti and Segou.
It cited an example of the killing of 26 people, including women and children in January when their bus was attacked.
“In the region, at least eight people, including three women abducted in the last three years, are known to be still held hostage by armed groups. Two others were kidnapped in February and held hostage for over a month before being released,” the statement added.
AI lamented that the insecurity and intimidation of teachers by armed groups have forced 715 schools to close across the central and northern regions of Mali affecting more than 214,000 students.
It said regions affected by the crisis included Gao, Kidal, Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu and in February 2018, 440 schools were closed in the Mopti region alone.
According to the statement, military forces fighting armed groups have also committed crimes under international law, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.
“For example, on 21 February during a baptism ceremony in the village of Daresalam, military forces arrested nine men - two of whom were from the Bambara ethnic group, and seven of whom were Peulh – and took them to an unknown location. They have never been seen since, despite attempts by the families to seek information from the authorities, who have ordered an investigation,” it said.
Searches by the military, which people told AI were carried out to obtain information about the whereabouts of members of the armed groups, resulted in further violations.
The statement underscored that these were not the first allegations made against the Malian security forces and MINUSMA has verified other cases of extrajudicial executions by the security forces in 2017.
“They should also ensure that all necessary measures are taken to allow students to return safely to school.”
-0- PANA MLJ/MA 3April2018
In a statement made available to PANA, the human rights group said local witnesses in the village of Dogo identified on 22 March six bodies as people who had been arrested by the military three days earlier.
AI said it also documented an increase in attacks on civilians by armed groups including Ansar Dine and GSIM (Groupe de soutien à l’Islam et aux musulmans), and confirmed that 65 people, including children, have been killed by improvised explosives since the beginning of the year.
“The increase in attacks has also resulted in the closure of hundreds of schools, leaving more than 214,000 children deprived of education. When bodies are thrown into mass graves, children are killed in rockets attacks and fear forces teachers and students to abandon their classrooms, there is an urgent need for measures to protect civilians from these crimes under international law and prevent further human rights violations,” Gaetan Mootoo, AI's West Africa researcher said.
According to the statement, AI carries out research in the region of Mopti in February and March interviewing 70 persons, including officials, who confirmed the increase in attacks in the central region of Mopti.
The rights group pointed out that the increased presence of armed groups, which intensifies the recruitment of local supporters and members, exacerbates tensions between different ethnic groups.
AI said it received information on 65 people killed in attacks by armed groups using improvised explosive devices since the start of the year, with the largest number of attacks now taking place in the central regions of Mopti and Segou.
It cited an example of the killing of 26 people, including women and children in January when their bus was attacked.
“In the region, at least eight people, including three women abducted in the last three years, are known to be still held hostage by armed groups. Two others were kidnapped in February and held hostage for over a month before being released,” the statement added.
AI lamented that the insecurity and intimidation of teachers by armed groups have forced 715 schools to close across the central and northern regions of Mali affecting more than 214,000 students.
It said regions affected by the crisis included Gao, Kidal, Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu and in February 2018, 440 schools were closed in the Mopti region alone.
According to the statement, military forces fighting armed groups have also committed crimes under international law, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.
“For example, on 21 February during a baptism ceremony in the village of Daresalam, military forces arrested nine men - two of whom were from the Bambara ethnic group, and seven of whom were Peulh – and took them to an unknown location. They have never been seen since, despite attempts by the families to seek information from the authorities, who have ordered an investigation,” it said.
Searches by the military, which people told AI were carried out to obtain information about the whereabouts of members of the armed groups, resulted in further violations.
The statement underscored that these were not the first allegations made against the Malian security forces and MINUSMA has verified other cases of extrajudicial executions by the security forces in 2017.
“They should also ensure that all necessary measures are taken to allow students to return safely to school.”
-0- PANA MLJ/MA 3April2018
