Deadly Mali airstrikes: africa corps under russian control causes civilian casualties

In a deeply concerning incident, Africa Corps, a group reportedly under Russian government control, conducted airstrikes in central Mali on June 15, 2026, resulting in the deaths of eight civilians, including three children. This attack on Kyrnia village appears to be a blatant violation of international law.

On that fateful morning, an aircraft, identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24, unleashed at least two munitions on Kyrnia, a village nestled in the Mopti region. The first strike impacted just outside the village chief’s residence, claiming the lives of two of his children, his wife, and another child, while injuring one woman. The second munition detonated approximately twenty meters away, hitting a small livestock market, where four men were killed and two others sustained injuries. Crucially, no fighters from Islamist armed groups were among the casualties in these attacks.

An Africa Corps aircraft, operating under Russian government command, engaged in actions that killed civilians in a Malian village, showing a clear disregard for the laws of war. The Malian government, by granting Russian authorities unchecked power, must recognize its own accountability for any atrocities committed by its allied forces.

Our investigation, conducted through telephone interviews between June 24 and July 14, involved 19 individuals, including six direct witnesses, civil society members, community leaders, Malian military sources, and local journalists. We also meticulously analyzed satellite imagery of the strike sites, reviewed a video of the strikes posted online by Africa Corps, and examined photographs shared on social media by an Islamist armed group. On July 23, our inquiries were sent to the Russian Minister of Defense, outlining our findings and posing several questions, but no response has yet been received.

On June 23, Africa Corps publicly claimed on its Facebook and X accounts that it had successfully carried out an airstrike on June 15 against a “terrorist gathering point” in the Mopti region, asserting that several field commanders were killed. The group also released a video of the strikes and their aftermath. Our team successfully geolocated the two strikes visible in this video to Kyrnia village.

For the past six years, Kyrnia has been under the control of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, or Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM). Witnesses reported that at least 100 GSIM fighters, including a high-ranking commander, were present in the village during the strikes. However, these fighters were primarily gathered at the village mosque and in front of a shop near a small livestock market. Neither the mosque nor the shop were hit; instead, a munition struck the livestock market. The GSIM is known to occasionally store weapons, ammunition, fuel, and other supplies in the shop, which belongs to the village chief, a prominent trader. A pickup truck, similar to those typically used by the GSIM, was parked outside the chief’s house.

Since 2012, successive Malian governments have been engaged in conflict with Islamist armed groups. Following military coups in 2020 and 2021, junta leader General Assimi Goïta expelled French and UN forces, subsequently strengthening ties with Russia. Since 2021, the junta has increasingly relied on the Russian-linked Wagner Group for security assistance. This mercenary group was rebranded as Africa Corps following the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023, bringing it under direct control from Moscow, a significant development in African politics.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged in June that Russian military personnel were collaborating with Malian armed forces to ensure full territorial control in Mali, particularly after GSIM attacks across the country on April 25. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that its forces were utilizing Su-24 aircraft to target GSIM fighters. Media reports and satellite imagery indicate that Africa Corps has been deploying Su-24 aircraft in Mali since at least April 2025 to support the Malian army. There are no public records documenting the transfer of Su-24s to Malian authorities. These aircraft are capable of carrying a wide array of aerial munitions, including guided weapons, which are consistent with the damage observed in Kyrnia.

Witnesses described seeing a fighter jet flying low over Kyrnia, producing a deafening roar. “It was a fighter jet, very fast… it flew low… from west to east,” recounted a 35-year-old trader. “I saw it drop a bomb… like a fireball… and I ran to take cover under a tree.”

A 37-year-old cattle herder described being at the livestock market when he heard a loud rumble, followed by an explosion. He then saw thick black smoke rising from homes near the chief’s house, followed by a second blast. “The market was in chaos,” he stated, “stalls blown away for several meters, oxen and sheep torn apart.” He assisted other villagers in clearing debris from the collapsed chief’s house, while GSIM fighters coordinated rescue efforts. “The chief’s second wife was dead, and she had lost… her arms,” he explained. “Then [we found] the [bodies of the] two children… and another boy who had been thrown onto the roof by the explosion.”

Our analysis of the Africa Corps video and satellite images from June 25 revealed two craters in the southern part of Kyrnia, each approximately 12 meters wide, indicative of two large air-dropped munitions. Around nine market stalls, visible in satellite imagery from February 7, appear to have been destroyed by the second strike. The impact outside the chief’s residence occurred between structures, causing at least one building to collapse.

A 48-year-old camel herder recounted being “thrown [to the ground] by the blast of the first explosion” before realizing he was “covered in sand and debris.… [S]ome people in front of me were injured, some had broken arms.”

A 40-year-old man identified “the bodies of three merchants,” who were hit “as they were traveling on a tricycle loaded with bags of dates” through the livestock market. The second strike wounded three men, one of whom tragically died the following day. A witness explained that the man was struck by bomb fragments, and “[h]is arms had been shredded.”

Our investigation documented a list containing the names of the eight victims, which included three children aged 1 to 10, a 24-year-old woman, and four men aged 30 to 40, highlighting the profound impact on society in Africa.

Witnesses also reported that on June 14, a drone, likely operated by Malian armed forces or Africa Corps, flew over Kyrnia. This suggests the village was under prior surveillance. “I saw a drone in the sky the day before, between 4 and 5 p.m.,” the camel herder described. “It made several passes over the village before leaving.”

While witnesses confirmed around a hundred GSIM fighters were in the village during the strikes, most were at the mosque, approximately 150 meters from the impact sites. A 40-year-old man noted that some GSIM fighters at the mosque were on motorcycles. “They had automatic weapons and wore military uniforms or boubous, their faces covered with turbans,” he explained. The trader also stated that many GSIM fighters, including a senior commander, were inside or outside the village chief’s shop, which was adjacent to the livestock market hit by the second munition.

The airstrikes occurred on a market day, when Kyrnia was bustling with traders, buyers, and villagers. Residents indicated that since GSIM gained control of the area, Kyrnia has become a vital commercial hub with a significant livestock market.

Locals affirmed that GSIM purchased supplies, including fuel and food, from Kyrnia’s market. They speculated that the airstrikes might have targeted the village chief’s residence because his pickup truck, similar to those used by GSIM, was parked outside. They also explained that three of the chief’s sons were GSIM fighters, but they were not in Kyrnia at the time of the attack.

The laws of war, applicable to the armed conflict in Mali, strictly prohibit attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects. They forbid indiscriminate attacks that fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants, or those likely to cause disproportionate harm to civilians or civilian objects compared to any anticipated military advantage. Belligerent parties conducting attacks are obligated to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties. Furthermore, parties should refrain from deploying in densely populated areas. The strikes in Kyrnia did not appear to target specific military objectives, making them potentially illegal indiscriminate attacks. The chief’s commercial dealings with GSIM do not render him a legitimate target. Our investigation uncovered no information indicating that the chief’s house was used to store weapons or ammunition.

The Malian government bears the responsibility to investigate this incident thoroughly and hold those accountable for violations of the laws of war, including members of Africa Corps. The Malian government cannot evade responsibility by attributing these violations to its Russian allies. The junta must impartially investigate all potential war crimes perpetrated on its territory, including the airstrikes in Kyrnia, or face complicity in these abuses, a critical issue for governance in Africa and independent African journalism.