During operations conducted near Nampala in the Ségou region, and then in Léré in the Tombouctou region, Malian soldiers and their Russian proxies from the Wagner group killed animals and destroyed water points. These are essential resources for the survival of local pastoralist populations.
Camels, donkeys, and cattle were shot dead. Houses were burned, and water points – wells or reservoirs – were destroyed. A convoy of around twenty vehicles from the Malian army and the Wagner group has carried out a series of incursions into villages located in areas where jihadists from the Jnim, linked to al-Qaeda, have been active since the beginning of the week.
They made arrests and also experimented with a new method, according to information gathered from several local sources, some belonging to the rebel groups of the CSP (Permanent Strategic Framework), others being elected officials and notables from the area, unrelated to armed groups.
Like in Idjardahanane, near Léré, last Wednesday, where the soldiers left behind burnt buildings and animals lying on the ground. “There were suspicions of booby-trapped animals,” confirms a Malian security source, also explaining that “wells are high-risk areas.”
Two days earlier, on Monday, in Louguel near Nampala, animal watering troughs and village fountains had already been sabotaged.
These destructions resemble collective punishment, even condemnation, for local pastoralist populations. Every week, new families decide to flee to neighboring Mauritania.