Members of the Russian Defense Ministry's Afrika Korps are accused of massacring civilians in Mali.
Amid ongoing fighting, residents of the region are reporting new serious violations, which they say are the work of mercenaries from the Afrika Korps, the successor to the Wagner PMC.
Dozens of refugees interviewed by the AP allege that fighters from the unit, operating alongside the Malian army, have engaged in extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, rape and scorched earth tactics.
Eyewitnesses said they saw burned villages, bodies of victims with organs removed, and completely deserted settlements where anyone could become a target.
Some provided journalists with video recordings, claiming that they showed the actions of “white soldiers.”
“It's a classic scorched earth tactic. The soldiers don't talk to anyone—they shoot anyone they see. No questions, no warnings.
“People don’t even understand why they are dying,” said one of the elders, who was forced to leave his village.
The Afrika Korps was sent to Mali to support the army in the fight against groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Previously, these tasks were carried out by mercenaries from the Wagner PMC, but in the summer it became known that they were leaving the country, making way for a new unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
