adminconflict’s civilian toll.
Japan, which lost seven citizens in a deadly Islamist backlash in neighbouring Algeria against the French-led offensive, decided yesterday to close its embassy in Bamako citing a deteriorating security situation.
Nearly two weeks after France swept to Mali’s aid to stop an Islamist advance towards the capital Bamako, reports emerged of atrocities committed by Malian soldiers and growing fears of attacks among light-skinned ethnic communities.
The majority of the Al Qaeda-linked rebels being hunted by the armies are either Tuaregs or Arabs.
The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues said that in the central town of Sevare at least 11 people were executed in a military camp near the bus station and the town’s hospital, citing evidence gathered by local researchers.
Credible reports also pointed to around 20 other people having been executed in the same area and the bodies having been dumped in wells or otherwise disposed of, the organisation said. At Nioro, in the west of the country close to the border with Mauritania, two Malian Tuaregs were executed by Malian soldiers, according to the FIDH.
The organisation called for an immediate independent inquiry commission to “determine the scale of the abuses and to punish the perpetrators.”
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has hailed France’s “courageous” intervention but expressed fears over the safety of humanitarian workers and UN employees on the ground. — AFP.
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