Republic of Mali
Head of state: Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Head of government: Modibo Keïta (replaced Moussa Mara in January)

The internal armed conflict perpetuated a climate of insecurity, particularly in the north, despite the signing of a peace agreement. Crimes under international law and abuses by armed groups persisted in different parts of the country.

BACKGROUND

Violent clashes and insecurity threatened different parts of the country with attacks against government forces and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). In June, the government and the Co-ordination of the Movement of Azawad (CMA) signed a peace agreement in Algiers, Algeria, that included initiatives for further decentralization and the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of sexual violence. The peace agreement also provided that there would be no amnesty for those suspected of criminal responsibility for the named crimes. In order to remove any obstacle to the CMA signing the peace agreement, arrest warrants were lifted against 15 of its members who faced charges including sedition and terrorism, and others were later released from detention in the capital, Bamako. In the same month, the MINUSMA mandate was extended by one year. At the end of the year, armed groups still controlled Kidal, one of the largest northern cities. In November, a nationwide state of emergency was declared following an attack on the Radisson Hotel in Bamako; it was extended to the end of March 2016.

Clashes between armed groups, MINUSMA and government forces continued, leading to over 250 casualties – including over 60 civilians.

In August, a former minister and member of the political opposition, Ousmane Oumarou Sidibé, was made president of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR).

More than 130,000 Malian refugees were still in neighbouring countries, and over 60,000 people remained internally displaced.

ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS

In March, a masked gunman opened fire in a bar-restaurant in Bamako, killing three Malians and two foreign nationals. The armed group Al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for the attack.

In July, members of the armed group al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacked MINUSMA soldiers on the road between Goundam and Timbuktu, killing six MINUSMA soldiers and injuring five. In August, an armed group attacked a residency for UN subcontractors in Sévaré, killing over 10 people, including foreign nationals.

In October, six civilians were killed and two injured after armed men used landmines and rocket launchers to attack a convoy of vehicles between Gossi and Gao in the north. Vehicles belonging to MINUSMA subcontractors were the main targets.

In November, armed groups killed 19 civilians during a siege at the Radisson Hotel in Bamako in which more than 150 people were taken hostage. Both Al-Mourabitoun and the Massina Liberation Front claimed responsibility.

At the end of the year Stephen McGowan and John Gustafsson, kidnapped by members of AQIM in northern Mali in 2011, were still being held hostage.

EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE

In January, MINUSMA soldiers fired live bullets at civilians outside a UN base in Gao, killing three and injuring four others during a violent demonstration against the UN plan to create a buffer zone in the northern town of Tabankort. In March, the victims' families filed complaints against MINUSMA for murder; a UN investigation recognized MINUSMA officers as responsible for the deaths and said that the police unit had used unauthorized and excessive force. The full report of the investigation was not made public.

ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS

In August, around 200 people peacefully protested against heavy taxation in the western town of Yélimané, in the Kayes region. One day later, the police arrested 17 members of the Yélimané Dagkane association; they were later charged with inciting revolt, opposing legitimate authority and participation in an unauthorized protest.[1]

Two other members, Bakary Diambou and Daman Konte, were also arrested in Bamako and charged with inciting rebellion. All were provisionally released in November.

IMPUNITY

In Bamako in March, seven human rights organizations filed complaints on behalf of 33 victims, against 15 people, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2012. In June, the authorities lifted arrest warrants issued against 15 CMA officials suspected of committing crimes under international law.

In October, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali expressed deep concern about the time taken to investigate and bring to trial cases of war crimes and human rights violations committed during the 2012 conflict. In the same month, eight supporters of General Amadou Sanogo, leader of the military junta that ruled Mali for part of 2012, escaped from prison. They were facing trial for the murder and kidnapping of "red beret" soldiers who had opposed the 2012 military coup. At the end of the year, General Sanogo and 29 others, including General Ibrahim Dahirou Dembélé, were still in detention and awaiting trial for murder and complicity in kidnapping of the "red berets".

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

In September, Ahmed Al Faqi Al Mahdi, member of armed opposition group Ansardine and allegedly head of the Manners Brigade (also known as Hesbah), which occupied northern Mali in 2012, was surrendered to the ICC by Niger, following the issuance of a warrant of arrest against him. He is suspected of war crimes over the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu in 2012. The preliminary hearings were due to be held in January 2016.


[1] Mali must release 17 prisoners of conscience detained for two months (AFR 37/2675/2015)

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