Africa Corps soldiers are committing egregious atrocities in Mali, including accusations of rape, beheadings, and other human rights abuses and war crimes, according to recent reporting from the Associated Press. Journalists and aid workers have been prevented from entering various parts of Mali, but the reporting so far has demonstrated that, between the transition from Wagner to Africa Corps, the group has maintained its brand, practicing extreme levels of violence, including burning villages to the ground. Military juntas have employed Africa Corps to safeguard their respective regimes, but from a counterinsurgency standpoint, much of what the Russians have done is highly counterproductive, exacerbating instability and pushing locals into the arms of jihadist groups. According to the Armed Conflict and Event Location Database (ACLED), an independent global conflict monitor, more than 5,000 civilians have been killed in Mali since 2023, with nearly half of these attacks involving Russian mercenaries.
New Name, Same Brutality: Russian Mercenaries Committing Atrocities in Mali – The Soufan Center
