UN calls for probe of alleged torture and killing of Malian soldiers in northern ambush

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged a thorough and independent investigation after reports that insurgents and separatists killed and tortured surrendering Malian soldiers during an ambush in northern Mali. The convoy was attacked between the town of Anefis and the city of Gao on Saturday, and video posted online appeared to show soldiers with their hands behind their heads being shot at by fighters.

More than 50 pro‑government fighters were said to have been killed, though the exact death toll could not be independently verified. The groups implicated are the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and the al‑Qaeda‑linked Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM). Both the UN office and the FLA spokesperson called for the footage to be authenticated and for independent investigations of all human‑rights abuses in the region. The escalating violence threatens the stability of Mali's military‑led government, which came to power after coups in 2020 and 2021.