Overview
- Human Rights Watch concluded that an aircraft dropped at least two munitions on Kyrnia in central Mopti on June 15, killing eight civilians including three children.
- HRW said it geolocated aerial footage posted by Africa Corps to Kyrnia and relied on interviews, satellite imagery and two Malian military sources who identified the plane as a Sukhoi Su-24.
- One strike struck near the village chief’s home, killing his wife and three children, and a separate strike hit a cattle market and killed four men, with no JNIM fighters reported among the dead.
- The report urges Mali’s government to investigate and hold those responsible to account and warns Mali may bear legal responsibility for atrocities by allied forces that operate with its backing.
- The findings add to broader monitoring data that show a sharp rise in civilian deaths linked to Malian forces and Russia-aligned fighters and increase pressure on international bodies to seek impartial probes.