Mali 2025

Authorities further curtailed the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Political opponents and civil society members were arbitrarily arrested and detained or subjected to enforced disappearance. Government forces, their allies and armed groups carried out unlawful attacks and killings against civilians. Armed groups imposed blockades on several towns and cities. More than 2,036 schools were closed due to the conflict.

Background

In February, the government drafted the National Charter for Peace and Reconciliation, following the collapse of an earlier peace process that was boycotted by political parties, civil society and some armed groups. In April the political transition period, which followed the 2020 military coup, was extended by five years.

In June the Wagner group, a private military company, was replaced by the Africa Corps Initiative under the Russian defence ministry’s control as part of its security partnership with Mali.

In August the government said it had foiled a military coup attempt, arresting several senior army officers and a French diplomat who was also a member of the French intelligence services.

In September Mali announced its intention to withdraw from the ICC.

Freedom of expression, association and assembly

The government’s decision to dissolve all political parties illustrated the alarming and continuing crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In April and May, protests denouncing the move were violently repressed by the security forces in the capital, Bamako.¹

Enforced disappearances

Security forces forcibly disappeared activists, civil society members and politicians.

On 14 March, Alou Badra Sacko, coordinator of the 20 February Appeal for a Return to Constitutional Rule and president of Don’t Touch My Money civil society movements, was abducted in central Bamako by hooded gunmen and taken to an undisclosed destination. Days earlier, he had called for the withdrawal of taxes on mobile money transactions. He was released on 24 May.

On 8 May El Bachir Thiam, a Yelema party leader, was abducted by unidentified men from his home. His whereabouts were not disclosed. The UN Human Rights Council called for his immediate release, and he was freed on 26 September. El Bachir Thiam had been central in opposing the dissolution of political parties and the extension of the political transition.

Also on 8 May, hooded gunmen, driving an unmarked vehicle and claiming to be gendarmes, abducted Alhassane Abba, secretary general of the Convergence for Mali’s Development political party, from his home in Bamako. He was not presented to a judge during his detention and was released on 5 June.

Arbitrary arrests and detentions

In March, the UN Human Rights Council called for the release of political activists Moulaye Baba Haïdara, Mahamoud Mohamed Mangane and Amadou Togola, who were tortured during their detention. They had been held since 2023 and awaited trial on charges including “undermining the external and internal security of the state”, and “undermining national unity and… the credibility of the state”.

In August, former prime minister Moussa Mara was arrested for posting a call on X in which he said he will “fight by all means” for the rights of those imprisoned for expressing their opinions. He was charged with discrediting the state and opposing legitimate authority. In October he was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison.²

Clément Dembele, an anti-corruption activist, remained in detention despite a court in April dismissing the charges against him and ordering his release. He was detained in 2023, accused of making death threats against the president and his family. In August the UN Human Rights Council called for his unconditional release.

Abuses by armed groups

Armed groups unlawfully attacked and killed civilians.

In February, around 34 civilians were killed in an attack on a civilian convoy by the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-Sahel), according to media. The convoy was being escorted by Malian security forces close to the village of Kobé, near the city of Gao.

In May Sidi Barka, a civil society leader, was abducted by IS-Sahel members in the town of Ménaka in the east. According to local sources, his body was found on the outskirts of the town in August.

Also in May, Ousmane Kampo, the mayor of Konna, Mopti region, was abducted by members of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM) while working in his fields, according to media. He was freed on 4 October.

In August, Katiba Macina members attacked Farabougou in the Dogofry commune, capturing army positions in an indiscriminate attack that killed civilian men, and led to an exodus of the residents. Also in August, Dogofry’s mayor Modibo Kimbiri and his driver were killed by traditional hunters who fired on their vehicle between Diabaly and Dogofry.

On 6 November armed group members abducted social media personality Mariam Cissé in Echell, Timbuktu region. The next day, they drove her to Tonka, her home town, executed her and left her body in a public square.

Violations of international humanitarian law

The army and its allies committed violations of international humanitarian law, including torture and extrajudicial killings.

On 16 March, a Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) drone strike in Ejdeir, Timbuktu region, killed at least 10 civilians on market day.

On 12 April, FAMa officers and their Wagner partners arrested around 100 men, mostly from the Fulani community, at a market in the village of Sebabougou, Kayes region. According to OHCHR, the UN human rights office, about 60 of them were taken to the Kwala military camp in the Koulikoro region, where they were tortured during interrogation. Most of them were then taken from the camp and, according to survivors’ testimonies, extrajudicially executed by shooting. A week later decomposing bodies believed to be of some of the men were found near the Kwala camp by relatives searching for their loved ones.

On 12 May around 10 Malian soldiers accompanied by Dozo militia fighters arrested between 23 and 27 men at the weekly market in the town of Diafarabé. The men were blindfolded, their hands tied behind their backs, and transported by canoes across the river, where they were executed and buried in mass graves.³ While the army pledged that the “alleged” executions would be investigated, no further information was made public.

GSIM continued to block access to several towns and cities, including Gossi, Léré and Diafarabé, undermining the rights to food security and freedom of movement, among other rights. In July GSIM announced a blockade against Kayes and Nioro du Sahel, two major cities in the west. In the same month, it announced that all fuel transportation and supplies from neighbouring Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire to Mali would be restricted and began targeting fuel tankers travelling on roads in western and central Mali.

Right to education

As of June, the education crisis worsened with more than 2,036 schools considered non-functional due to insecurity, compared to 1,984 schools in June 2024. Meanwhile, 618,000 schoolchildren were denied their right to education. Kidal region was the most affected with 63% of children out of school.

Mali