Surge in jihadist violence against civilians in Mali: UN

The UN mission in Mali warned Monday that violence against civilians, notably by jihadists but also by sectarian militias and the army, is on the rise in the poor Sahel country.

In a quarterly report covering April, May and June, MINUSMA's human rights division said the Islamists were pushing southward.

"Through local 'non-aggression or reconciliation' agreements signed under duress by beleaguered communities, these groups have also been able to impose draconian restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, particularly against women," the report said.

"Between April and June, at least 527 civilians were killed, injured or abducted/disappeared, an overall increase of more than 25 percent from the first quarter" of 2021, it said.

The Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and other jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) were responsible for 54 percent of the casualties and kidnappings, the report said.

GISM, the largest jihadist alliance in the Sahel, is linked to Al-Qaeda.

The report said jihadists kidnapped 156 people, mainly those thought to be informants or close to Malian or international forces.

"JNIM and similar groups continued to strengthen their territorial hold, particularly in the rural areas of central Mali, with a notable expansion" in the south, the report said.

Women and girls in these areas have been forced to wear the veil or face whipping, it added.

It blamed one-fifth of the atrocities on militias and vigilante groups such as an ethnic Dogon militia called Dan Nan Ambassagou.

The militia controls swathes of territory in central Mali, with officials in the capital Bamako fearing the group is rivalling the army.

The report said Dan Nan Ambassagou has carried out 54 abductions of civilians, demanding ransoms as high as four million CFA francs (around 6,100 euros, $7,300).

Map showing zones of influence by armed groups in the Sahel. By (AFP)

The Malian army and international forces -- UN peacekeepers as well as French and regional armies -- are responsible for nine and six percent of atrocities against civilians, the report said.