Malians tell of atrocities by Russian military unit

Refugees say Africa Corps, which replaced Wagner Group, raped and beheaded people.

- MONIKA PRONCZUK AND CAITLIN KELLY

MEMBERS OF the Fulani community who fled violence in Mali take refuge in Mauritania last month.

Photographs by CAITLIN KELLY Associated Press

A new Russian military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group is carrying out abuses including rapes and beheadings as it teams up with Mali’s military to hunt down extremists, dozens of civilians who fled the fighting have told the Associated Press.

The Africa Corps is using the same tactics as Wagner, the refugees said, in accounts not reported by international media until now. Two refugees showed videos of villages burned by the “white men.” Two others said they found bodies of loved ones with liver and kidneys missing, an abuse the AP previously reported connected to Wagner.

“It's a scorched-earth policy,” said a Malian village chief who fled. “The soldiers speak to no one. Anyone they see, they shoot. No questions, no warning. People don’t even know why they are being killed.”

West Africa’s vast Sahel region has become the deadliest place in the world for extremism, with thousands of people killed. The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating militants including JNIM, a militant organization affiliated with Al Qaeda.

When the Africa Corps replaced Wagner six months ago, weary civilians hoped for less brutality. The United Nations says they have been abused by all sides in the conflict.

But refugees described a new reign of terror by Africa Corps in the vast and largely lawless territory, and legal analysts said Moscow is directly responsible.

The AP gained rare access to the Mauritanian border, where thousands of Malians have fled in recent months as fighting intensified. It spoke with 34 refugees who described indiscriminate killings, abductions and sexual abuse. Most spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.