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On April 15, 2024, Al-Zallaqa, the media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), released two statements listing an alleged series of executions by the Malian Army and the Russian state-funded private military company, Wagner Group, in Mali.[1]
The statement said that both the Malian Army and Wagner Group had carried out a "heinous massacre" against civilians southeast of the city of Boni. The statement explained that the executions, which took place on March 17, involved the killing of six civilians who belonged to different ethnic groups, including four from the Dogan, one from the Fulan and one from the Tuareg.
The GSIM statement further accused the Malian Army and Wagner Gorup of "executing 50 unarmed civilians" in the Gondou, Kourou on March 3.
On April 5, the Malian Army and Wagner Group committed another "massacre against vulnerable people in Kerkade, Kourou, killing two people," according to the statement.
According to the statement, one person was killed, and another was arrested, on the same day in the Bana region in the same district of Kourou.
"On April 7, the Malian Army and Wagner mercenaries unjustly and aggressively executed four people southeast of the Boni region," asserted the statement.
In sum, the statement claimed that 15 people southwest of the city of Douentza had been executed by the Malian Amry and Wagner Group.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, along with comfort and support, asking Allah to give them patience and solace and to have wide mercy on their families and accept them among the number of martyrs," it said.
"Cowardly Violations Against Burkinabe Civilians"
In another statement, GSIM accused the Burkinabe Army of committing a "heinous massacre" against civilians in the villages of Mamsig, Selgaji, and Lodial, adjacent to the town of Kelbo, in the state of Som.
The statement said the execution, which took place on April 11, targeted women, children, and the elderly, noting such "cowardly violations against civilians occur almost on daily basis by the criminals of the Burkinabe army and militias."[2]
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