Malian forces and suspected Russian fighters killed about 300 civilians in late March in the centre of the conflict-torn Sahel nation, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

In a report, the rights group suggested the alleged massacre perpetrated over four days, in the town of Moura in volatile central Mali, was a war crime.

Malian soldiers and white foreign fighters arrived in the town by helicopter on March 27 and exchanged fire with about 30 Islamist fighters, several witnesses told Human Rights Watch (HRW). Some jihadists then attempted to blend in with the local population.

Over the ensuing days, Malian and foreign fighters allegedly rounded people up and executed them in small groups.

HRW estimated that about 300 people were killed in total, with the vast majority of the victims being ethnic Fulanis.

"The incident is the worst single atrocity reported in Mali's decade-long armed conflict," the report said.

Mali's army said on Friday that it killed 203 militants in Moura. However, that announcement followed widely shared social media reports of a civilian massacre in the area.

Faced with the multiplication of testimonies reported by the press, the army issued a new statement late Tuesday, dismissing the "unfounded allegations" which it said were aimed at "tarnishing the image" of the armed forces.

Without referring specifically to HRW, it reiterated that respect for rights was "a priority in the conduct (of) operations" and called for "restraint against defamatory speculation".

- International concern -

The United States, European Union, United Nations and Mali's former colonial power France have all raised concerns about the possible killing of civilians in Moura.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the Malian armed forces' account or the social media reports.

HRW's recent report attests to fears of a mass civilian killing in Moura, however.

The study was based on interviews with 27 people, including witnesses from the Moura area, foreign diplomats and security analysts, the rights group said.

"The Malian government is responsible for this atrocity, the worst in Mali in a decade, whether carried about by Malian forces or associated foreign soldiers," said HRW Sahel Director Corinne Dufka, who urged an investigation.

Several witnesses and other sources identified the foreign soldiers as Russians to HRW.

Russia has supplied what are officially described as military instructors to Mali, an impoverished country that has been battling a brutal jihadist conflict since 2012.

However, the United States, France, and others, say the instructors are operatives from the Russian private-security firm Wagner.

Mali's ruling military, which seized power in a coup in August 2020, denies the allegation. It also routinely defends the rights record of the armed forces.

The Malian army, in its statement published on Tuesday evening, said troops had attacked a group of "terrorists" and engaged them in heavy fighting.

Once control of Moura was secured, the soldiers identified more "terrorists" hidden among the population, it said.

The statement mentioned military casualties but said nothing of any foreign soldiers.

Armed men surround home of Mali politician who criticised junta
Bamako (AFP) April 5, 2022 - Armed men surrounded Malian opposition politician Oumar Mariko's home in the capital Bamako on Tuesday after he ignored a summons from the gendarmes for criticising the ruling junta, witnesses said.

At a recent public meeting in the conflict-torn Sahel nation, Mariko had suggested that the army was "murdering people," and urged the junta to assume responsibility for the situation in the country.

According to a video seen by AFP, the politician listed several recent mass killings in Mali and called them "unacceptable" -- including murky events that occurred last week in Moura in the centre of the country.

Mali's army said on Friday that it killed 203 militants in Moura.

However, that announcement followed widely shared social media reports of a civilian massacre in the area.

The United States, European Union, United Nations and Mali's former colonial power France have all raised concerns about the possible killing of civilians in Moura.

Human Rights Watch also said in a report on Tuesday that Malian forces and foreign fighters had killed about 300 people in Moura.

Gendarmes had summoned Mariko on Tuesday morning after the video circulated online.

His left-leaning SADI party also stated that armed men had broken into his home on Monday, demanding to know where he was.

Armed men returned to his home, surrounding it, on Tuesday, witnesses and a family member told AFP, after Mariko failed to appear before the gendarmes.

A poor nation of 21 million people, Mali is governed by a junta that seized power in a military coup in August 2020.

The junta promised to restore civilian rule after the putsch, but it is under sanctions from the West Africa bloc ECOWAS for ignoring an earlier commitment to stage elections in February this year.

Swathes of Mali lie outside of government control, due to a brutal jihadist conflict that first emerged in 2012, and has since spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

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