U.N. report links Malian, 'white-skinned' troops to civilian deaths

6/8/2022 6:39

        Malian government troops and "white-skinned soldiers" detained 33 civilians in central Mali in March who were later found shot dead and their bodies
        burned, sanctions monitors told the U.N. Security Council in a report seen by Reuters on Friday.
        
        The report does not identify the "white-skinned soldiers" who are accused of rounding up men and older boys in a small Malian village, tying their hands behind their backs and blindfolding them. Malian troops then arrived and are accused of beating the men and taking away 29 Mauritanians and four Malians.
        
        "The women waited for the return of the men, but were notified by relatives a day later that the men's bodies had been found 4 km (2.4 miles) away. The men had been shot and then burnt," wrote the U.N. monitors, citing testimony they received.
        
        Mali is struggling to stem an Islamist insurgency that took root after a 2012 uprising and has since spread to neighbouring countries, killing thousands and displacing millions across West Africa's Sahel region.