(Nairobi, July 31, 2026) – The Russian government-controlled Africa Corps carried out airstrikes in central Mali on June 15, 2026, that killed eight civilians, including three children, in an apparently unlawful attack, Human Rights Watch said today.
That morning, an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24, dropped at least two munitions on Kyrnia village, Mopti region. The first struck outside the village chief’s residence, killing two of his children, his wife, and another child, and injuring a woman. The second struck a small cattle market about twenty meters away, killing four men and injuring two others. No Islamist armed group fighters were known to be casualties.
“Russian government-controlled Africa Corps aircraft have killed civilians in a Malian village in seeming disregard for the laws of war,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “By handing the Russian authorities a blank check, the Malian government should be aware that it too is accountable for allied forces’ atrocities.”
Human Rights Watch remotely interviewed 19 people between June 24 and July 14, including 6 witnesses, civil society members, community leaders, Malian military sources, and local journalists. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery of the locations of the strikes, a video of the strikes that the Africa Corps placed online, and photographs that an Islamist armed group posted on social media. On July 22, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the Russian defense minister, summarizing its findings and posing several questions, but received no response.
On June 23, the Africa Corps reported on its Facebook and X accounts that on June 15 it had carried out a successful airstrike on a “gathering place of terrorist groups” in the Mopti region, killing several “field commanders,” and published a video of the strikes and aftermath. Human Rights Watch geolocated the two strikes from the video to Kyrnia.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM) has controlled Kyrnia for the past six years. Witnesses said at least 100 JNIM fighters, including a senior commander, were in the village at the time of the strikes but had gathered mainly at the village mosque and outside a shop near a small cattle market. While neither the mosque nor shop was struck, one munition hit the cattle market. JNIM has occasionally stored weapons, ammunition, fuel, and other material at the store, which is owned by the village chief, a wealthy trader. A pickup truck, similar to vehicles the JNIM commonly uses, was parked outside the chief’s home.
Since 2012, successive governments in Mali have battled Islamist armed groups. After military coups in 2020 and 2021, the junta leader, Gen. Assimi Goïta, expelled French and United Nations forces and strengthened ties with Russia. Since 2021, the junta has relied on the Russia-linked Wagner Group for security assistance. The mercenary group was rebranded as the Africa Corps after the Wagner Group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in 2023, and came under Moscow’s direct control.
The Russian foreign ministry acknowledged in June that Russian military personnel were working with the Malian armed forces to ensure full control over Malian territory after JNIM attacks across the country on April 25. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces used Su-24s to strike militants.
Based on media reports and satellite imagery, the Africa Corps has deployed Su-24 aircraft in Mali since at least April 2025 in support of the Malian military. There is no public record of transfer of Su-24s to Malian authorities. These aircraft can carry an array of large, air-delivered munitions, including guided weapons, that are consistent with the damage caused by the munitions that struck Kyrnia.
Witnesses said they saw a fighter jet flying low over Kyrnia and making a deafening noise. “It was a fighter jet, very fast … it flew low … from west to east,” said a 35-year-old trader. “I saw it dropping a bomb … like a fireball … and I ran for cover under a tree.”
A cowherder, 37, said he had been sitting at the cattle market when he heard a loud rumbling sound, followed by an explosion. He saw thick black smoke rise from houses near the chief’s home, then a second explosion. “The market was a mess,” he said, “stalls blown apart over several meters, and shredded cows and sheep.” He helped clear the rubble from the chief’s collapsed home alongside other residents, while JNIM fighters coordinated rescue efforts. “The chief’s second wife was dead, and she had lost … her arms,” he said. “Then [we found] the [bodies of the] two children … and another boy who had been thrown by the explosion on the roof.”
Analysis of the Africa Corps video and of satellite imagery from June 25 by Human Rights Watch shows two craters in the southern part of Kyrnia, each about 12 meters wide, indicating two large, air-delivered munitions. About nine market stalls, visible on satellite imagery from February 7, appear to have been destroyed by the second strike. The strike outside the chief’s residence fell between structures, causing at least one building to collapse.
A camel breeder, 48, said he was “thrown [to the ground] by the blast of the first explosion,” and discovered he was “covered in sand and debris.… [P]eople in front of me were injured, some had broken arms.”
A 40-year-old man said he identified “the bodies of three merchants,” hit “as they rode their three-wheeled vehicle loaded with bags of dates” through the cattle market.
The second strike injured three men, including one who died the following day. A witness said the man had been struck by bomb fragments and “[h]is arms had been torn apart.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed a list with the names of the eight victims, including three children ages 1 to 10, a 24-year-old woman, and four men ages 30 to 40.
Witnesses said that on June 14, a drone presumably operated by the Malian armed forces or the Africa Corps flew over Kyrnia, suggesting the village was under surveillance. “I saw a drone in the sky the day before, between 4 and 5 p.m.,” said the camel breeder. “It made several rounds over the village before leaving.”
Witnesses said about 100 JNIM fighters were in the village at the time of the strikes, most at the mosque, about 150 meters from the strike sites. A man, 40, said that at the mosque, some JNIM fighters were on motorcycles. “They were armed with automatic weapons and dressed in military uniforms or boubous [robes], with their faces covered with turbans,” he said. The trader also said that numerous JNIM fighters and a prominent commander were in or outside the village chief’s shop, located at the cattle market struck by the second munition.
The strikes occurred on a market day, when Kyrnia was crowded with traders, buyers, and villagers. Residents said that since JNIM took control of the area, Kyrnia has become a commercial hub with a large livestock market.
Residents said that JNIM purchased supplies, including fuel and food, from Kyrnia’s market. They said airstrikes may have targeted the village chief’s residence because of his pickup truck, similar to those used by JNIM, was parked outside. They also said three of the chief’s sons are JNIM fighters, but were not in Kyrnia during the attack.
The laws of war applicable to the armed conflict in Mali prohibit attacks that target civilians and civilian objects, that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants, or that are expected to harm civilians or civilian property that is disproportionate to any anticipated military advantage.
Warring parties carrying out attacks are obligated to take all feasible precautions to minimize loss of civilian life. Parties should avoid deploying in densely populated areas. The strikes in Kyrnia did not appear to target specific military objectives, which would make them unlawfully indiscriminate. The fact that the village chief did business with the JNIM would not make him subject to attack. Human Rights Watch uncovered no information that the chief’s home was then being used to store arms or ammunition.
The Malian government has an obligation to investigate the incident and hold accountable those responsible for laws-of-war violations, including Africa Corps members.
“The Malian government cannot hide behind laws-of-war violations committed by their Russian allies,” Allegrozzi said. “The junta has to impartially investigate all possible war crimes committed on their territory, including the airstrikes in Kyrnia, or be held complicit in abuses.”
