Human Rights Watch Reports 73 Civilian Deaths in Mali Clashes and Strikes by Both Sides

Human Rights Watch reported that Malian military forces, JNIM fighters and allied FLA groups killed at least 73 civilians and wounded dozens more during fighting in northern and central Mali between April 25 and May 21, 2026. The organization interviewed 34 people, including 30 witnesses, between April 26 and June 9.

It verified four videos, six photographs and satellite imagery showing destroyed shelters.

A letter sent to Mali's justice minister on June 11 received no reply. Clashes on April 25 in Gao and Kidal between JNIM and FLA fighters on one side and Malian and Africa Corps forces on the other killed 13 civilians and wounded at least 25. A 38-year-old man in Kidal said he was struck by bullets in the right shoulder and left thigh and was evacuated by helicopter to Gao hospital.

Between May 14 and 17, Malian military operations against Fulani communities in central Mali killed 38 civilians, including 23 children. Two drone strikes attributed to the military killed 12 children and teenagers in Guimbé on April 25 and 10 men and women in Tené on May 17 during a wedding gathering.

JNIM fighters burned more than 40 civilian vehicles bound for Bamako between May 6 and 21, including at least 40 in Zambougou on May 9.

A 43-year-old bus passenger said a fighter told passengers, "Didn't we warn you that Bamako is under siege? " before setting the vehicles on fire. No military forces or equipment were present. JNIM also publicly executed a man in Tonka.

Since September 2025 the group has blocked fuel supplies, causing shortages that halted transport and disrupted electricity and education in Bamako. FLA spokesman Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadane said the group wrote to communities near Kidal to leave military sites. " Mali has faced armed conflict since 2012.