ANALYS: Terror, våld och massakrer. Det är vardagen för många malier i norra och centrala Mali. Militärregimen har inte lyckats infria löften om säkerhet och ett bättre liv för människor vilkas existens hotas eller utplånas. Attacker av jihadister skördar allt fler civila offer. Om detta vittnar författaren till den här artikeln, en tuareg från Timbuktu-regionen, som av säkerhetsskäl skriver under pseudonym.
Under the military regime, Mali has been plunged into a situation of widespread terrorist attacks and violence with civilians as most of the victims. The initial support of the junta, taking power in military coups in 2020 and 2021, is failing as elections are postponed indefinitely and human security severely undermined. This article is a testimony of a Tuareg citizen from the Timbuktu region.
Ahmed, a resident of a village north of Léré is deeply concerned. ”Nowadays we try to adapt to the threats and the only way is to hide in the bush. As soon as we hear the noise of vehicles, everyone, women, children and the elderly, start running to get safe outside the village”. Another resident in the region shares his concern about the deterioration of the security situation. ”We are facing horrible violence that threatens even our existence and unfortunately in total silence.”
The security situation is very volatile in Mali, characterized by terrorist group attacks against the Malian armed forces (FAMA) and their Russian auxiliaries from the Wagner group. But also against civilian populations, who sadly find themselves between a hammer and an anvil. Terrorist groups like JNIM (Group for support of Islam and Muslims affiliated to Al Qaida) with a strong presence in rural areas attack villages and civilians, accusing them of collaborating with the regular armed forces. The Wagner group targets civilians and their animals in retaliation for confrontations with terrorists. The presence of mercenaries on Malian soil has deteriorated the security situation and has plunged the civilian populations into a vicious cycle of horrific violence.
Massacres of civilians
The region of Timbuktu is particularly affected, especially along the border with Mauritania where there have been several massacres of civilian populations. Several nomadic camps have been looted in the municipality of Léré and south of Lerneb in the region of Timbuktu. Last November, two shepherds were coldly executed in Ijdardahane south of Léré by suspected members of the Wagner group. Another 20 people were killed in the same area in massacres by Wagner and FAMA in Fulani and Tuareg villages.
Timbuktu is not the only region affected by violence and insecurity. Mopti, Gao and Kidal are facing a similar situation. The atrocities escape local and international media. The situation pushes people to take refuge in neighboring countries such as Algeria and Mauritania.
Separatists demand independence
A new political-military group, Azawad Liberation Front, FLA, which managed to merge most of the armed separatist groups in the North, aims to control the northern part of Mali (Azawad) and demands its independence, which the separatists renounced when the Algiers agreement was signed in 2015. In addition, the FLA has the ambition to respond to the abuses of the Wagner group on civilian populations. The reorganization of separatist groups and drone strikes by the FAMA trying to take control over Mali territory add to fears of the intensification of the crisis.
Daily difficulties include meeting food needs for families as economic activities are stagnating or disappearing, e.g. due to constraints of access to goods or land. Healthcare is becoming increasingly expensive. Populations in rural areas hardly dare to go to sleep for fear of attacks, Displaced people flee Wagner massacres or are forced to migrate to urban centers or other countries, also due to the impact of climate change such as flooding of crops and homes. Begging is becoming more common in front of shops than customers.
People survive thanks to limited humanitarian aid and support of their relatives who have emigrated abroad and send a little money back. Others try to do agro-pastoral trade in neighboring countries.
In recent months, the security situation has deteriorated considerably. Wagner/FAMA attacks against civilian populations are increasing, and jihadist confrontations with FAMA-Wagner acting together are more frequent also in the center and the south of Mali.
Climate of distrust
Arbitrary arrests and broken promises have created a climate of distrust regarding the security system. The majority of Malians feel trapped in a situation that they did not foresee. Initially, a majority of Malians were supportive of the putschists and served as a conduit for their propaganda. Promises of better security and perspectives of life as well as fight against corruption made people trust the military, who used this popularity to adopt major changes such as the severance of relations with Mali’s key partners in the West, and even with the United Nations asking the stabilization mission MINUSMA to leave.
Realizing that the military had a hidden agenda to stay in power, the population now prefers to remain neutral to avoid reprimands and punishment following critics of the junta and imposes self-censorship.
Demonstrations in support for the military regime no longer mobilize large crowds as before. The growing tension within the transitional government is also evident as well as the political divide among the transition’s supporters. One example is the reactions after the dismissal of Prime Minister Choguel Maiga after a public statement on the issue of elections. He was initially a fervent supporter of the military transition but also the author of a violent attack on France at the United Nations tribune.
Elections postponed indefinitely
Malians are paying close attention to the organization of elections which have been postponed indefinitely. According to Youssouf, ”Mali is sadly plunged into a constitutional void, with no prospects and no solution in sight. With the postponement of elections, and the military occupying all key positions in the administration, we fear the installation of a perpetual tyranny. Without dialogue to resolve conflicts also with local actors, the future of Mali is sadly bleak.”
Climate change is a big concern
Ibrahim, resident of Timbuktu: ”In addition to the deterioration of the political and security context, we are affected by an unprecedented natural disaster. All the dwellings located on the banks of the Niger river are flooded, the inhabitants are forced to abandon their homes. To deal with this situation, we need our African and European partners. Isolation is not the solution. It is the people who suffer from the break with traditional partners. The withdrawal of Mali from the regional organization ECOWAS, is causing great concern with regard to economic and political consequences.
Climate change has led to natural disasters of recent years – drought, loss of livestock, food shortages and floods, phenomena that also cause population displacements and deteriorate the situation of vulnerability. These communities, already weakened by poverty and the lack of basic infrastructure, are plunged into unprecedented precariousness.
Promises from the military regime to provide security have not been kept and the anti-French discourse has run out of steam. The economic slump is aggravated by the abuses by the security forces against the civilian population – racketeering, intimidation, arrests, kidnappings and payment of bail to regain freedom for captured civilians. In addition to the curfew, there are administrative hassles such as the control by the FAMA of identity documents (NINA cards), documents that the government is unable to make sufficiently available, but which it demands to be in possession of everyone. These and other factors create a lack of confidence in the leadership. Some people dare to demand change even if it is through gritted teeth.
Six million need assistance
As of 2025, 6.4 million people – 28 per cent of the population – require humanitarian assistance. The most severe needs are concentrated in northern and central Mali, where conflict has caused displacement, deepened vulnerabilities and limited access to basic services.
The humanitarian situation is further exacerbated by unprecedented flooding and recurring droughts, which have devastated livelihoods and heightened the risks of disease outbreaks such as cholera and malaria.
Despite these challenges, the UN and its partners have managed to deliver assistance in most areas by engaging communities and coordinating responses to overcome access challenges. In 2024, humanitarian assistance reached 1.8 million people, even though only 39 per cent of the US$ 701.6 million funding requirement was met.
Aid and human security under attack
Government pressure on international organizations has become a major restriction, making their operational neutrality and independence difficult. The same goes for international companies with important contributions to the treasury. Mining companies are targeted by legal proceedings and required to pay large sums to continue their operations. The nationalization of mining companies discourages foreign investors from coming to Mali.
The security-focused approach is beginning to show its limits. Restrictions of free and critical information force people to deny the actual crisis and present a false semblance of peace and security.
Human security is severely under attack and the military regime does not seem inclined to revise its hard line or relationships with regional and international partners in order to alleviate the deep misery and concern of its population.
Baba Ag
Editor: Carin Wall. The author is a friend of the editor and writes under a pseudo name.
Lämna ett svar