United News of Bangladesh

An airstrike carried out by Russian government-controlled Africa Corps in central Mali last month killed eight civilians, including three children, Human Rights Watch said Friday. The rights group said a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft dropped two bombs on Kyrnia village in the Mopti region on June 15. According to Human Rights Watch, one of the strikes landed near the home of the village chief, killing his wife and three children. The second strike hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men. No members of the Islamic militant group JNIM, which has controlled the village for about six years, were reported among those killed, the rights group said. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims. Mali has faced violence for more than a decade from militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, including JNIM, as well as a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north. The situation has worsened in recent months after JNIM and Tuareg separatists launched their biggest coordinated attacks in more than a decade. The attacks targeted the airport in the capital Bamako, the nearby military town of Kati and several cities in northern and central Mali. The attacks in April highlighted challenges facing Mali's efforts to fight the insurgency, including its growing reliance on Russia after the military-led government cut ties with former partners such as France. Russian mercenaries have been operating in Mali since late 2021 to support the military government in its fight against militants and separatists. Last year, the Russia-linked Africa Corps, which is under the country's Defense Ministry, replaced the private Wagner Group in Mali. Human Rights Watch said it interviewed 19 people, examined satellite images and reviewed a video posted online by Africa Corps. The video described the June strike as an attack on a gathering of "terrorists." The rights group said around 100 JNIM fighters were in the village at the time, but most were gathered in another area. It said the strikes did not appear to have targeted a clear military objective. Human Rights Watch urged Mali's government to investigate the attack and hold those responsible accountable. It warned that failure to do so could make the government complicit in possible war crimes. Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.