DOUANKARA, Mauritania — A systematic campaign of human rights violations is being carried out in Mali by Russia’s Africa Corps, the military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group, according to extensive testimony from dozens of refugees who have fled to neighboring Mauritania.
In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press, 34 civilians described a reign of terror implemented by the Africa Corps in collaboration with Malian military forces. The accounts include indiscriminate killings, sexual violence, beheadings, and the harvesting of organs from victims—tactics previously associated with Wagner operations in the region.
“They implement a scorched-earth policy without discrimination,” stated a Malian village chief who escaped the violence. “The soldiers communicate with no one. Any individual they encounter is immediately shot—no inquiries, no warnings. People remain completely unaware of why they are being executed.”
The Sahel region of West Africa has emerged as the global epicenter of extremist violence, with thousands killed in ongoing conflicts. Military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have pivoted from Western alliances to Russian security partnerships in their fight against al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates.
When Africa Corps formally replaced Wagner six months ago, exhausted civilians anticipated reduced brutality. Instead, refugees report intensified operations characterized by extreme violence. Multiple witnesses provided video evidence of villages systematically burned by what they described as “white men” speaking Russian.
One particularly disturbing account came from Mougaloa, a herder from northern Mali, who described watching masked men slit her son’s throat after Malian soldiers beat him unconscious. In a subsequent incident, the armed men abducted her daughter Fatma while using the Russian derogatory term “pes” (dog) to refer to locals.
Legal experts emphasize that the transition from Wagner to Africa Corps creates direct accountability for the Russian government. “Despite the rebranding, there is striking continuity in personnel, commanders, tactics and even insignia,” noted Lindsay Freeman, senior director of international accountability at UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center.
The situation is compounded by reduced international oversight. The United Nations peacekeeping mission withdrew from Mali in 2023 under government pressure, and Mali’s departure from the International Criminal Court this year has further complicated accountability mechanisms.
Eduardo Gonzalez Cueva, a U.N. independent expert on human rights in Mali, reported that military authorities have ignored his requests for access and questionnaires, considering investigations into alleged abuses “inconvenient and harmful to the morale of the troops.”
Refugees consistently report that the change from Wagner to Africa Corps represents merely a name change rather than any substantive improvement. “The clothing, the vehicles, the personnel remained identical,” stated Bocar, a refugee who returned home only to flee again. “The methodologies persisted, and actually intensified.”
The psychological toll on survivors is profound. Fatma, another refugee who lost multiple family members, described her existence as merely physical: “I am just someone who is alive and appears as a person that I was—but is not, in fact, living.”