Residents of Mali report brutal torture and executions carried out by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group
In 2021, a military junta seized power in Mali, forcing French troops to leave the country after accusations that they had failed to stop the insurgent movement.
The junta turned to Russia for help, which deployed mercenaries from the Wagner Group, then closely linked to the Kremlin.
Since then, the Wagner mercenaries have left, and their operations have been taken over by the “African Corps” under the patronage of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Ahmed, a former shop owner who survived torture and witnessed murders, told BBC correspondents about the brutality of Russian mercenaries:
“They dunked my head in water until I almost suffocated, stepped on my chest, beat me, and dunked me again. Then they brought two men and beheaded them in front of me. They held one of the bodies close to me so I could smell the fresh blood.”
On Telegram channels, the mercenaries shared photos and videos of killings, torture, cannibalism, and desecration of corpses, often with racist captions.
Today, operations are carried out by the Russian African Corps, but most former Wagner fighters continue to operate in the region, carrying on their methods of violence.
The conflict has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and seek refuge in camps for displaced persons.