Witnesses and local community leaders said hundreds of men were rounded up and killed in small groups during the anti-jihadist operation in the central town of Moura, the British daily reported on its website, citing the Human Rights Watch group.
Local security officials told Human Rights Watch that more than 100 Russian-speaking men were allegedly involved in the operation, according to The Guardian.
Human Rights Watch described the killings as the worst single atrocity in Mali’s decade-long armed conflict, The Guardian reported.
According to the British newspaper, the so-called Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries is allegedly funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful businessman closely linked to Vladimir Putin who has faced Western sanctions.
According to the BBC, the Wagner Group was first identified in 2014 when it was backing pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, it has been involved in regions including Libya, Syria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
According to a 2019 report by the New York Times, Russian mercenaries fighting in Libya, among them skilled snipers, were part of a campaign by the Kremlin to reassert its influence across the Middle East and Africa.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Wagner Group is formed by private military contractors who carry out secret missions for Russia.
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Source: theguardian.com