Demonstrators gathered in the northern Malian town of Tinzaouaten on Tuesday, accusing the Malian army and its Russian allies of using internationally banned cluster munitions during airstrikes targeting populated areas in northern Mali.
Videos and images circulating online showed large crowds chanting slogans including “Azawad Yes, Mali No,” while some protesters carried banners accusing Russian mercenaries and Africa Corps forces of targeting civilians in northern Mali with cluster bombs.
Several demonstrators also displayed photos of what they described as remnants of Russian-made cluster munitions allegedly used in attacks on villages and areas across northern Mali.
In one video, a man speaking through a loudspeaker said:
“We want to liberate Azawad from Kidal to Ménaka. We want to show the world these cluster bombs with which the Azawadi people are being bombed and poisoned, and through which women, children and innocent people are being killed. We want the world to know that Mali is a terrorist state and has no right to walk on our land.”
In another video, a woman speaking through a loudspeaker said:
“We pray to God to grant victory to the Azawadi people. We are here today to deny Mali’s claims and actions, and we condemn those who brought us these aircraft that bomb us and bomb our people, with a foreign force that is neither Azawadi nor Malian.”
Participants in the protests called for an independent international investigation into the recent strikes, which they said killed and wounded civilians, including women and children.
The demonstrations followed the circulation of images and videos on local media and social media platforms showing unexploded ordnance that local residents said were cluster munitions used in strikes near Timbuktu and Kidal.
The Azawad Liberation Front has previously accused Mali’s military authorities of using internationally banned weapons and called for urgent international intervention to investigate the allegations.
Protesters said the strikes targeted residential neighborhoods and civilian gatherings far from military positions, describing the attacks as a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Malian authorities have not issued an official response to the allegations.
In a related development, local sources said activists in the capital Bamako secretly painted graffiti calling for Russian forces to leave Mali, despite the fact that criticism of Russia or its forces is considered highly sensitive under the ruling military authorities and could expose those responsible to prosecution.
