Moura massacre: 500+ killed by Malian troops and foreign personnel

During a five-day operation beginning 27 March 2022 in Moura (central Mali), OHCHR found strong indications that more than 500 people were killed, the vast majority summarily executed, and that at least 58 women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence; it obtained names of at least 238 victims. Witnesses described 'armed white men' speaking an unknown language who operated alongside Malian forces, stayed for the whole operation and at times appeared to supervise; OHCHR did not name their nationality or unit. In January 2023 UN Special Procedures experts, including the Working Group on mercenaries, cited credible reports that Malian forces accompanied by personnel believed to belong to the Wagner Group executed several hundred people at Moura.

Established by. OHCHR fact-finding report on Moura, published 12 May 2023 (Malian authorities denied investigators access to the site); UN Special Procedures joint statement of 31 January 2023 calling for an independent investigation into possible international crimes by Government forces and 'Wagner group'.

Latest. No independent or Malian judicial accountability process known as of 2026; Mali expelled MINUSMA (mandate ended 30 June 2023) and the UN Mali sanctions regime and Panel of Experts ended after Russia's veto on 30 August 2023.

Link to the war against Ukraine. The Wagner Group deployed in Mali from December 2021 was the same organisation fighting in Ukraine at the time (incl. Bakhmut/Soledar).