Wagners Atrocities: Evidence of Torture and Abuse at UN Bases in Mali Revealed

A report released on Thursday by a consortium of journalists reveals that the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner has kidnapped, detained, and tortured hundreds of civilians during its over three years of activity in Mali, including at former UN bases and military installations shared with the Malian army.

Victims, interviewed from a refugee camp in neighboring Mauritania, recounted experiences of waterboarding, being beaten with electrical cables, and being burned with cigarette butts, according to the investigation led by Forbidden Stories in collaboration with France 24, Le Monde, and IStories.

The investigation pinpointed six locations where civilians were unlawfully detained and tortured from 2022 to 2024, although the actual number of such incidents is likely greater, the journalists noted. The methods employed were similar to those reported in Wagner’s operations in Ukraine and Russia, with some instances resulting in fatalities.

Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power through coups in 2020 and 2021, severed ties with France, its former colonial ruler, and sought political and military support from Russia. Although the junta has never formally acknowledged the presence of Wagner, asserting instead that they work with Russian «instructors,» human rights organizations and Western governments have long claimed that Wagner fighters are active in the region.

Last week, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner announced the group’s impending withdrawal from Mali, with their fighters expected to be integrated into the Africa Corps, a paramilitary force associated with the Kremlin, according to diplomatic and security sources who spoke with AFP.

A UN investigation has accused Malian forces and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 individuals during an anti-terror operation in the town of Moura in 2022—a claim the junta denies. Western governments assert that Wagner mercenaries were involved in these actions.

In April 2024, bodies were found near a Malian military base just days after report of the army and Wagner personnel detaining numerous civilians, predominantly from the Fulani ethnic group.