Paris – Members of the Tuareg diaspora in Europe staged a demonstration on Saturday outside the Russian Embassy in Paris, condemning what they described as ongoing abuses and atrocities against civilians in the Sahel and calling for an independent international investigation.
The protest brought together Tuareg activists as well as human rights supporters from several European and Asian countries. Demonstrators carried the flags of Azawad and the Amazigh people while displaying banners reading, “No to the massacres of civilian populations in the Central Sahel” and “International Criminal Court: How many more deaths before justice is served?”
Protesters accused the Africa Corps, which replaced the Wagner Group in Mali, of continuing military operations against civilians alongside the Malian army, arguing that the change of name has not altered its methods or conduct.
They highlighted the recent events in the town of Achel in northern Mali, where local sources alleged that Russian and Malian forces entered the weekly market and opened fire, killing at least 17 civilians, including a child.
African Perceptions said it had independently verified several of these incidents through its network of correspondents, local sources, and eyewitnesses, including the Achel market killings, after cross-checking testimony from multiple independent sources.
Protesters said the incident forms part of a broader pattern of abuses documented by international organizations, including Imouhag International, which has compiled a dossier containing photographs, testimonies, and evidence of alleged abuses against civilians in northern and central Mali and submitted it to the International Criminal Court.
They also cited reports by Human Rights Watch, which accused Malian armed forces and foreign fighters believed to be Russian of involvement in unlawful killings of civilians, including the Moura operation in March 2022.
Participants further referred to reports by Amnesty International, MINUSMA, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, all of which have documented allegations of serious human rights violations during military operations in Mali and called for independent investigations.
At the end of the protest, demonstrators urged the International Criminal Court and the international community to investigate the reported abuses and hold those responsible accountable.
