Mali to investigate the claims of the soldiers executed by soldiers

Mali’s military government says it is investigating allegations that soldiers are “cold executing” at least 24 civilians in the northern part of the country on Monday.

This statement was made by the separatist rebel Union Tuareg, called Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which is fighting the Malian government in the same region.

FLA accuses the Malian forces and the mercenaries of Wagner in offsetting two passenger vehicles traveling to Algeria from the Malian city of Gao and killing civilians on board, including women and children.

In a statement, army chief Gen Umar Diara said the allegations “transmitted by terrorist networks, allies and sponsors” followed other “unfounded” allegations against state forces.

For many years, the Malian’s government has been fighting both against Tuareg rebels seeking a detached state in the northern and jihadist groups associated with al -Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The military, who seized power in the coup in 2020 and 2021, hired Russian mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner to help improve security in the country.

Both the government forces and the Russians were often Accused by groups of rights to commit gross violations of human rights against civilianswhich they deny.

Last month, Mali was one of three military countries to leave the West Africa Regional Bloc after declining his demands to restore the civil government.

The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger inflicted a huge blow to Ecowas, which is 50 years old considered the most important regional group in Africa.

Mali’s military leaders also ended ties to the former colonial power France, whose troops left the country in 2022 after more than a decade, struggling with Islamist rebels.

The following year, all 12,000 UN peacekeepers left Mali on the instructions of the junta.