Human Rights Violations Report in Azawad for December 2024

REPORT N°12/AKA/2024
Period: Month of December
Date: January 3, 2025

Introduction:

The Kal Akal Association is a local civil society organization dedicated to defending the human rights of the Azawad people. It is a non-profit organization that aims, among other objectives, to promote education, preserve cultural heritage, foster social cohesion, and defend human rights.

Based in the Kidal region, the association collects information and documents human rights violations across the Azawad regions and parts of central Mali near Azawad. It relies on local contacts and anonymous, good-faith individuals to report incidents, regardless of the perpetrators, targets, or motives.

The association maintains a database containing details, monthly reports, and situational dispatches. The identified perpetrators of these violations are mainly members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMAs) and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. The methods, resources, scale, and frequency of these violations, combined with the victims’ identities, strongly suggest a program of ethnic cleansing orchestrated at the highest levels of the Malian state under the junta’s leadership.

Additionally, jihadist groups are also involved in human rights violations. This monthly monitoring report provides an overview of the human rights violations committed in December across Azawad and parts of central Mali near Azawad, where some communities are targeted based on ethnic affiliation and prejudices.

The violations documented this month include summary executions, arbitrary arrests, injuries caused by gunfire, destruction of grazing lands, looting of goods and personal belongings of civilians, and even damage to public infrastructure.

I. EXECUTIONS, ATTEMPTED EXECUTIONS, AND MASSACRES: 50 CONFIRMED CASES

This report highlights emblematic cases, including deaths resulting from summary executions by FAMAs-Wagner forces, collective massacres, IED explosions, and drone strikes.

Details of incidents:

December 1, 2024:
Malian army forces and their Russian mercenaries conducted drone strikes in Tinzawaten, targeting a civilian gathering. Seven community leaders, including the association’s Secretary General, Sidi AG Baye, were killed.

December 2, 2024:

In Anou Wan Ababa (Aratane), a joint FAMAs-Wagner mission executed and beheaded six people, including two adolescents aged 15 and 14.

A civilian from the Ifoghas community was killed in Intafarkit/Kidal by another patrol.

In Banguel and Tancoulé, Wagner mercenaries accompanied by guides killed a deaf-mute civilian and a mosque imam.

In Sebabougou, Diéma district, FAMAs and Wagner forces executed six Fulani individuals.

December 8, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner mission leaving Leré executed and beheaded two Fulani individuals in Toulafinadji in the Méma area.

December 10, 2024:
The Malian army and Wagner mercenaries executed three civilians at close range in Elewidj-Aguelhok.

December 15-16, 2024:
A patrol from Leré executed more than seven individuals in Tilwat and west of Aratane. The same patrol killed a 12-year-old in Razelma.

December 19, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner patrol traveling from Timbuktu to Goundam searched Acharane village and killed an innocent civilian in Zinzin near Acharane.

December 21, 2024:
A joint FAMAs-Wagner mission from Timbuktu-Goundam and Niafunke killed a shepherd in Ekaz, west of Agwawali.

December 24, 2024:
A joint FAMAs-Wagner mission from Gao toward Tin Tadjlit nomadic camps killed two civilians in Tin Tafdit.

December 24-25, 2024:
A patrol from Leré executed and beheaded six Fulani and two Black Tuareg individuals in Oumandi and Toulafinadji in the Méma area.

December 28, 2024:
A drone strike targeted a civilian Toyota Hilux vehicle in In Tabarwaq, Bogassa area, killing one passenger and injuring another.

II. ARRESTS/DISAPPEARANCES/KIDNAPPINGS: 17 CONFIRMED CASES

This section highlights some key cases:

December 2, 2024:
In Sebabougou, Diéma district, a FAMAs mission with their Wagner mercenaries arrested several Fulani individuals.

December 5, 2024:
A joint FAMAs-Wagner mission arrested three individuals in Aklahin, approximately 15 km south of Kidal. Their fate remains unknown.

December 8, 2024:
During the weekly market in Emnaguil, two individuals were arrested by FAMAs-Wagner forces, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

December 15-16, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner patrol from Leré arrested more than three individuals from the Black Kal Tamacheq community. Their fate remains undisclosed.

December 21, 2024:
A joint FAMAs-Wagner mission traveling from Timbuktu-Goundam to Niafunke arrested three individuals near Agwawali. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

December 23, 2024:
A patrol by Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries arrested one individual in In Anou Malane, Tessalit district.

December 24, 2024:
A joint FAMAs-Wagner mission from Gao heading to Tin Tadjlit arrested one Arab civilian in Tin Tafdit.

December 26, 2024:
FAMAs-Wagner forces arrested three young individuals from the Arab Achorfa community (Hel Arawane) in Hassi Sidi, northwest of Timbuktu, in Essakane commune.

December 29, 2024:
A patrol from Leré arrested one individual in Toubel, Soumpi commune. The individual’s fate remains unknown.

III. TORTURE/INJURIES/THREATS: 10 CONFIRMED CASES

Some notable incidents include:

December 2, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner mission injured a civilian in Intafarkit/Kidal using an improvised explosive device (IED).

December 7, 2024:
A strike north of Ber in Hassi Loumazil gravely injured a woman and her three children, according to local sources.

December 11, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner patrol planted a trap in a store in Essouk commune, which exploded and seriously injured a woman.

December 25, 2024:
In the Méma region, a joint FAMAs-Wagner patrol planted a trap on a motorcycle, which exploded, injuring three Fulani individuals.

December 28, 2024:
A drone strike on a Toyota Hilux vehicle in In Tabarwaq, Bogassa area, gravely injured a passenger.

December 29, 2024:
An anti-personnel mine exploded, gravely injuring a civilian in Anefif, Kidal region. Witnesses claim the site was booby-trapped by FAMAs-Wagner forces.

IV. DESTRUCTION/LOOTING/THEFT AND OTHER MATERIAL DAMAGE: 50 CONFIRMED CASES

Key incidents include:

December 2, 2024:
Wagner mercenaries with six local guides from Douentza to Koro, Bandiagara region, looted and burned nine homes and three granaries.

December 3, 2024:
In Gao, armed groups looted passengers on the Gao-Intahaka road. Witnesses reported more than 10 pickups and several motorcycles, all heavily armed.

December 7, 2024:
A Turkish drone strike targeted a civilian Toyota Hilux vehicle in Inabag, Timtaghen circle, resulting in material damage but no casualties.

December 8, 2024:
FAMAs-Wagner forces looted and burned houses and a shop in Diawely, Méma region.

December 9, 2024:
A drone strike in Arabanda, Fifo commune, destroyed a civilian transport vehicle but caused no casualties.

December 10, 2024:
ISIS elements stole livestock from the Indakshak community in Galchiyat, Tin Assako commune, Kidal.
Simultaneously, FAMAs-Wagner forces looted and burned houses and motorcycles in Elewidj-Aguelhook.

December 11, 2024:
FAMAs-Wagner forces burned 20 tents in Eghachar Sadiden, Ibdakane, and Assouk, and planted explosives in a store in Essouk commune, injuring a woman.

December 14, 2024:
In Emnaghil, Gao region, FAMAs-Wagner troops looted local shops, taking goods and valuables.

December 16, 2024:
A FAMAs-Wagner patrol from Leré looted and burned the market and houses in Razelma, terrorizing women on site.

December 23, 2024:
FAMAs-Wagner forces looted property in Ibdakane and In Anou Malane, Tessalit district, taking valuables and necessities.

December 24, 2024:
A joint mission looted goods and burned a motorcycle in Tin-Darsan. A Turkish-guided drone strike destroyed a fuel depot west of Talahandak.

December 27, 2024:
In Doussakat, 35 km east of Aguelhok, Wagner mercenaries and FAMAs looted homes and shops, taking a civilian’s car.

December 28, 2024:
A Turkish-made drone struck a civilian vehicle in Tan Handarmou, destroying it.

December 29, 2024:
A Turkish-guided drone struck a civilian vehicle in Aldaday, Tessalit commune, Kidal.

V. SEXUAL VIOLENCE

No confirmed cases of sexual violence were reported for December 2024.

VI. ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

A series of bushfires, attributed to Wagner mercenaries and FAMAs, have been documented, destroying grazing lands crucial for the local economy.

Key incidents:

December 8, 2024:
Bushfire in Méma-Léré region caused by Wagner mercenaries and FAMAs.

December 11, 2024:
Fires in Ibdakane and Eghachar Sadiden areas.

December 15, 2024:
A patrol in Tilwat, Leré zone, caused a bushfire.

December 25, 2024:
Vast grazing lands in Tinarabane, Kidal, destroyed by fire.

CONCLUSION

1. Kal Akal condemns the extrajudicial killings perpetrated by Wagner mercenaries and the Malian Armed Forces against civilians in Azawad.

2. The association denounces the international community’s silence on the ethnic cleansing campaign supported by certain powers.

3. The association mourns the loss of its secretary-general, Sidi Ag Baye, killed in a drone strike on December 1, 2024.

4. Kal Akal calls on the Turkish government to halt military support to the Malian junta, including the sale of drones, to prevent further civilian casualties.

5. The association urges neighboring countries, regional organizations (ECOWAS, AU), and international bodies (UN, EU) to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting human rights.

6. Kal Akal appeals to humanitarian organizations and states for aid and support for refugees and internally displaced persons in Azawad.

some pictures of crimes in the month of December

1-A Civilian killed and cut up by the Fama-Wagner couple in Toulafinadji in the Méma on December 08, 2024