Allegations of severe human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and summary executions, are increasingly being leveled against soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. These forces are actively engaged in counter-jihadist operations across the Sahel region, a situation that has drawn significant concern from the United Nations.
During a recent Security Council video conference focused on the Sahel, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-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 pressing concern has been voiced with increasing frequency over several months, coinciding with ongoing condemnations of jihadist atrocities and inter-communal violence.
In early April, the UN mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, highlighted a “multiplication” of misdeeds attributed to national armed forces. MINUSMA’s human rights division director, Guillaume Ngefa, confirmed that “these figures, the names, and the circumstances have been documented.” The mission recorded 101 extrajudicial killings by the Malian army between January and March, in addition to approximately 30 more carried out by the Nigerien army on Malian soil.
Mid-May saw 12 individuals, apprehended on suspicion of collaborating with jihadists, found dead in gendarmerie cells in Burkina Faso. Relatives and non-governmental organizations assert these were civilians who were summarily executed. The judicial authorities have pledged to conduct thorough investigations.
– “very serious allegations” –
In Niger, a list of 102 missing persons, which circulated in April, suggests they were killed by the army in the Tillabéri region in the west. While the Defense Ministry lauded the “professionalism” of its troops, it also committed to launching an inquiry into these claims. Human rights organizations consistently publish names and photos, lamenting the disappearance of individuals after military operations. A significant number of those who vanish are from the Fulani ethnic group, who are often unfairly associated with jihadist collaborators.
An anonymous official from the Malian Fulani association Tabital Pulaaku expressed frustration, stating, “We can write reports, denounce that so many Fulani have been killed and thrown into a well, or show the world a mass grave, but nothing is done afterward.” Abou Sow, the president of Tabital Pulaaku, clarified to the press that while it is undeniable some Fulani have joined jihadist groups, “it is naive to reduce jihadism to a single ethnicity.”
Sahelian governments have historically stood firm in support of their armies, which, despite often being underequipped and undertrained, bear a heavy burden in the fight against jihadism. Speaking on behalf of the G5 Sahel (Mauritania, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali) before the Security Council, Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed affirmed that achieving the Joint Force’s full capabilities necessitates its complete understanding and integration of human rights principles. He assured that Mauritania is “taking actions to ensure respect for the law.” Abdou Abarry, Niger’s Ambassador and a non-permanent member of the Council, echoed this sentiment, stating, “We fully adhere to human rights,” as nations like Belgium voiced concerns over “very serious allegations.”
– “a related objective” –
Following its meeting, the Security Council released a statement acknowledging “the measures announced by several Sahelian governments in response to these allegations of human rights violations, and encouraging their finalization.” These accusations against national armies emerge at a critical juncture for the Sahel region. The UN itself faces skepticism from certain Security Council members regarding the scale and effectiveness of its MINUSMA mission in Mali, which comprised 13,000 personnel in mid-June.
Furthermore, France initiated a review of its engagement conditions in the Sahel after 13 of its soldiers tragically lost their lives 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 escalating violence has not been contained, leading to thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands displaced since 2012. Ibrahim Maïga from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Bamako noted that “the protection of civilians is only a related objective” compared to the “number one priority for military forces, which is to neutralize” jihadists. General Pascal Facon, commander of the French anti-jihadist force, when questioned by AFP in May about the alleged abuses by national armies, described them as “intolerable” and potentially “posing a problem in terms of the forces’ credibility.”