According to a detailed report, a combat aircraft—identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24—dropped at least two bombs on Kyrnia, a village in the Mopti region. The first explosion struck near the residence of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children, and another child. The second bomb landed on a nearby livestock market, where four men were fatally wounded. Human rights investigators concluded that the strikes lacked precision targeting and were indiscriminate in nature.

Africa Corps claims strike targeted armed groups

Africa Corps, operating under Russia’s Ministry of Defence and supporting Mali’s armed forces, shared aerial footage on social media depicting a strike it claimed targeted a gathering of ‘terrorist fighters’ in the Mopti region on the same day. Human rights researchers confirmed the location of the footage matched Kyrnia. However, no evidence suggests that members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate reportedly controlling the village for years, were among the casualties. Local testimonies revealed that three of the chief’s sons belong to JNIM but were absent during the attack, while armed fighters were indeed present in the village, primarily gathered in a mosque that remained unharmed.

The human rights group has urged Malian authorities to launch a full investigation and hold those responsible accountable. Such operations, involving Malian troops and their Russian allies, have faced repeated accusations of human rights violations. Last year, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) recorded 918 civilian deaths attributed to joint military actions by Malian forces and their Russian partners. Meanwhile, both the United Nations and Amnesty International have previously called for inquiries into potential war crimes linked to JNIM and the Front de libération de l’Azawad (FLA).