| Hombori massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |
  Hombori Hombori (Mali) | |
| Location | Hombori, Mali |
| Date | 19 April 2022 |
| Victims | 50+ civilians killed 500–600 arrested |
| Perpetrators |  Malian Armed Forces  Wagner Group |
| Motive | Retaliation to a bombing |
The Hombori massacre took place on 19 April 2022. It was perpetrated by the Malian Army and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, when they opened fire on a market in Hombori, Mali.
Around 9:30 a.m. on 19 April, a Malian army vehicle ran over an IED outside of Hombori, killing a Wagner mercenary. The Malian and Russian troops then proceeded to walk over to the market square in Hombori, and opened fire on the crowd gathered there due to the town's market day. [1] A Malian aid worker present at the scene later stated that
"It was a fair day. A few terrorists were in hiding. There were firefights. Then the soldiers attacked everyone, assaulting the inhabitants, robbing them of their jewellery, money and telephone, while others fired in all directions." [2]
The market shooting killed around 50 civilians. [3] Immediately following the massacre, Malian and Russian soldiers detained around 500 civilians at the local base in Hombori. [4] Days later, one Malian soldier shot 20 out of the 27 detained civilians at the base. [4] Two more detainees were tortured to death. [5] The rest of the 500 were freed later. [4] The victims of the market massacre also included a woman and a child. [4]
The Malian Army, after an initial denial, confirmed the death of the Russian mercenary, although both Mali and Wagner Group denied claims of the massacre. [6] [7] Instead, the Malian government claimed that they launched a counter-terrorism operation "neutralizing" 18 "terrorists". [7] In the statement, the government claimed to have also arrested around 600 people, with one dying in custody. [8]
The United Nations expressed concern about the Hombori massacre, as it came just a month after Mali and Wagner troops killed around 300 civilians in Moura. [9] On 23 April, just four days after the massacre in Hombori, clashes in Mondoro and Boni killed several Malian and Wagner troops. [7] Twelve people were also killed, although it is unclear whether they were extremists or civilians. [7] On 10 May, Wagner kidnapped five people at the Hombori market. [10]
After a video was released of Caucasian soldiers in unidentifiable uniforms burning dozens of bodies, and a subsequent video of a mass grave near Gossi, the Malian government released a statement blaming the French for the killings. [8] [11] Russia backed these claims, also accusing France. [8] France instead claimed that the bodies were from the Hombori massacre, denying the Russian and Malian claims stating that they had relinquished control of the base to Malian troops days prior to the Hombori massacre. [9] France also claimed the Twitter account the videos surfaced from was a Russian disinformation campaign. [11] MINUSMA backed up France, stating that the bodies arrived at the base on 20 April, when France no longer had control over the base. [12] Mali did not respond to these claims. [12]
The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa. On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tuareg people, had taken control of the region by April 2012.
Events in the year 2021 in Mali.
The Moura massacre was carried out by Malian Armed Forces and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group between 27 and 31 March 2022, in the central Malian town of Moura, Mopti Region in conflict with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. Over 300 civilians are alleged to have been killed according to US-based Human Rights Watch.
An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.
Events in the year 2022 in Mali.
Events in the year 2023 in Mali.
On the night between March 1 and March 1, 2022, Malian forces with the aid of Wagner Group killed over three dozen civilians in Danguèrè Wotoro, near Dogofry, Mali.
The Wagner Group is a Russian state-funded paramilitary organization, also described as a private military company (PMC) and as a network of mercenaries. Since 2017 it has provided military support, security and protection for several governments in Africa. In return, Russian and Wagner-linked companies have been given privileged access to those countries' natural resources, such as rights to gold and diamond mines, while the Russian military has been given access to strategic locations such as airbases and ports. In the case of the Central African Republic, Bohumil Doboš of the Institute of Political Studies in Prague described Wagner's operation in that country as a neo-imperialist and neo-colonial kind of state capture. The group has been blamed for human rights abuses and for killing civilians.
The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad is a coalition of political and military movements in northern Mali that was formed on May 6, 2021, as an alliance of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Platform. In September 2023, Platform left the CSP-PSD due to the CMA's war with the Malian government. In April 2024, the CSP-DPA was renamed from the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development.
The Ménaka offensive was a series of offensives launched by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara against the Malian Army, Tuareg self-defense groups including the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA), and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The offensives took place in the Ménaka Cercle, in southeastern Mali.
On April 24, 2022, militants from Katibat Macina attacked Malian Army bases in the cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho, all in central Mali's Mopti Region. The attacks killed fifteen soldiers and six civilians.
Events in the year 2024 in Mali.
On November 8, 2013, clashes broke out between Malian forces and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Amazragane, Ménaka Region, Mali.
On October 23, 2013, Katiba Salahadin militants attacked Chadian peacekeepers in the city of Tessalit, sparking a battle between the militants and Chadian and French forces. The attack was the first attack by jihadists targeting MINUSMA peacekeepers during the Mali War.
The battle of Ber took place between August 11 and 12, 2023, between the Malian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group against fighters of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). The battle was the first major confrontation between the CMA and Malian forces since the signing of the Algiers Accords, and led to the breakdown of the accords by late 2023.
The Battle of Bourem occurred on September 12, 2023, when the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) attacked the Malian Armed Forces and their Wagner Group allies in and around the small town of Bourem. The battle was the first major attack by the CSP-PSD on Malian forces since the Battle of Ber in August 2023.
The Kidal offensive was an offensive by the Malian government and Wagner Group mercenaries against the rebel coalition Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) with the aim of capturing the rebel-held region of Kidal. The offensive was part of a renewed conflict between the Malian junta that took power in 2021 and former Tuareg rebel groups that had signed the Algiers Agreement in 2015, creating a ceasefire and de facto rebel control over the region. The offensive was also an attempt by Malian forces to seize control over MINUSMA camps in Kidal Region after the Malian junta had ordered the mission to leave the country by the end of 2023.
The battle of Kidal took place between November 10 and 14, 2023, during the Kidal offensive in renewed conflict between the CSP-PSD and the Malian Armed Forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries during the Mali War. The city of Kidal had been under rebel control since 2014, and the 2015 Algiers Agreement enacted a ceasefire and Kidal Region subsequently was de facto controlled by rebel groups. When Malian and Wagner forces captured the city on November 14, it marked the first time in nine years that all Malian regional capitals were fully under Malian government control.
On December 3, 2023, jihadists from the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISSP) launched simultaneous attacks against Malian forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries in Labbézanga, Gao Region, and against Tuareg militia groups in Ménaka Region.
On 26 May 2024, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) jihadists attacked a Malian Army and Wagner Group base in Mourdiah, Koulikoro Region, Mali. The attack was repelled, and dozens of jihadists were killed.
