Malian military and white troops behind civilian deaths

{O/C} A 2015 peace deal between the Malian government and non-extremist armed groups may be coming apart at the seams.

This, after a shocking report from the United Nations pointed to the Malian military and "white" troops as the culprits of the recent civilian deaths.

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Three months into 2022 and 543 Malian civilians had already perished, with 269 gravely wounded, insists the United Nations peacekeeping team in Mali.

In a 78-page bleak and rigorous report from U.N. experts on Friday, experts say at least 33 civilians were shot to death and burned in one of multiple operations where the country's reigning military appeared to work with Russian mercenaries.

Most "white-skinned soldiers" belong to the Russian Wagner Group, but the report didn't explicitly state the group by name.

The soldiers rounded up men and older boys, tied their hands behind their backs and blindfolded them, then mercilessly bludgeoned by Malian soldiers.

Incessant screams were heard, and bodies of at least 33 men were discovered four kilometres away from the village of Robinet El Ataye, where they were beaten.

The panel said the onslaught occurred at five other locations, but no deaths were reported.

Women and children were asked to go home, stripped of all possessions like bedding, cellphones and clothing.

Political uncertainties are emanating from encircling beleaguered Bali.

Potential confrontation between the Malian government and non-extremist armed independence groups is threatening to decimate the 2015 peace agreement between the two parties.

The 12 million now in need of humanitarian aid stand in stark contrast to the 5.9 million last year, with 1.9 million whipped by "acute malnutrition" during this lean period till August.

The Islamic extremist insurgency, which started in 2012, has consumed the African country of Mali.

In August 2020, President Boubacar Ibrahim Keita was deposed in a military coup.

It was only then that Russian mercenaries joined the civil strife, compounded by the stalled political and institutional overhaul of the 2015 peace agreement.