Reports of forced disappearances and summary executions against local populations by military forces in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are increasingly prevalent. These allegations, directed at soldiers actively engaged in counter-jihadist operations across the Sahel region, have triggered significant concern from the United Nations.
During a United Nations Security Council videoconference focusing on the Sahel, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peace Operations, emphatically stated, “I urge the G5 Sahel Joint Force and its member states to spare no effort” in upholding human rights.
This deep concern has been consistently voiced for several months, coinciding with ongoing condemnations of jihadist activities and escalating inter-communal violence in the area.
In early April, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) highlighted a “proliferation” of alleged offenses attributed to national armies in the region.
Between January and March, the UN documented 101 extrajudicial executions carried out by the Malian army, along with approximately thirty more by the Nigerien army within Malian territory. Guillaume Ngefa, the head of MINUSMA’s human rights division, confirmed that “these figures, including names and circumstances, have been thoroughly documented.”
Mid-May saw the deaths of twelve individuals, apprehended on suspicion of complicity with jihadists, in gendarmerie cells in Burkina Faso. Relatives and non-governmental organizations assert that these were civilians who had been summarily executed. Authorities have pledged to conduct investigations into these incidents.
serious allegations surface
In Niger, a list of missing persons circulating in April suggested that 102 individuals were allegedly killed by the military in the western Tillabéri region. While the Ministry of Defense committed to launching an inquiry, it also commended the “professionalism” of its forces.
Consistently, human rights organizations have been releasing lists of names and photographs, lamenting the disappearances of individuals following military operations. A significant number of those reported missing are members of the Peul community, who are often readily associated with jihadist accomplices.
“Despite our reports, despite denouncing that numerous Peuls have been killed and discarded in wells, or revealing mass graves to the world, no subsequent action is taken,” expressed an anonymous official from the Malian Peul association Tabital Pulaaku.
Abou Sow, president of Tabital Pulaaku, told the press, “While it is undeniable that some Peuls have turned to jihadism, it is naive to attribute jihadism solely to one ethnic group.”
Sahelian governments have consistently stood by their military forces, which, despite often being underequipped and inadequately trained, bear a heavy cost in the ongoing battle against jihadism.
Addressing the Security Council on behalf of the G5 Sahel (Mauritania, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali), Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed affirmed that “achieving full capability for the Joint Force is understood through its capacity to comprehensively grasp the human rights dimension.”
He further stated that Mauritania “is undertaking actions to ensure respect for the law.” Reinforcing this commitment, Abdou Abarry, Niger’s ambassador and a non-permanent member of the Council, added, “We fully adhere to human rights,” even as nations like Belgium voiced concerns over “very serious allegations.”
collateral objective
In a statement released after its meeting, the Security Council acknowledged “the measures announced by several Sahelian governments in response to these allegations of human rights violations, and encourages their finalization.”
These accusations against national armies emerge at a critical juncture for the Sahel region.
Firstly, the UN faces skepticism from some Security Council members regarding the scale and effectiveness of its mission in Mali, which comprised 13,000 personnel by mid-June.
Meanwhile, France has re-evaluated the terms of its involvement in the Sahel following the loss of 13 French soldiers in November.
Despite the presence of French forces, MINUSMA (whose mandate is due for renewal), and the G5 Sahel Joint Force established in 2017, the surge of violence in the region has not been contained. This ongoing conflict has resulted in thousands of fatalities and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons since 2012.
Ibrahim Maïga of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Bamako noted that “civilian protection is merely a collateral objective” for military forces, whose “number one priority is to neutralize” jihadists.
When questioned in May about the alleged abuses by national armies, General Pascal Facon, commander of the French anti-jihadist force, described them as “intolerable” and potentially “posing a problem in terms of the credibility of the forces.”
