22 Fulani Men Found Executed in Mass Graves at Diafarabé — Malian Army and Dozo Militia Accused; Amnesty Calls for Investigation

On May 15, 2026, a delegation of Diafarabé residents escorted by the military crossed to the south bank of the Niger River — where detained men had been taken on May 12 — and discovered 22 bodies in two mass graves. The victims were ethnic Fulani men aged 32–67 who had been attending a local cattle market in Diafarabé, a town in Mali's Mopti Region (Cercle de Tenenkou), on May 12, 2026. Survivors and witnesses reported that Malian soldiers and Dozo traditional hunters' militia had arrested at least 30 Fulani men at the market, bound and blindfolded them, transported them by canoe across the Niger River to the south bank, slit their throats, and buried them in mass graves. Eight men who were arrested were not found among the bodies; their fate is unknown. Amnesty International immediately called for an urgent, independent investigation, stating the killings appeared to constitute extrajudicial executions. FIDH (Fédération Internationale des Droits de l'Homme) joined the call for accountability. The Africa Report quoted a survivor: 'They slit their throats one by one.' The Malian junta has not issued a response. The incident follows the documented pattern of collective punishment against Fulani communities in Mali's central regions — including the 2022 Moura massacre (500+ killed, UN OHCHR documented), the 2019 Ogossagou massacre, and repeated HRW-documented incidents in which Fulani men at markets or cattle-grazing areas have been collectively arrested as presumptive JNIM suspects. The Diafarabé area — in the Tenenkou Cercle, Mopti Region — is core Katiba Macina territory; security forces frequently treat Fulani men in the area as JNIM sympathizers. The use of Dozo militia alongside regular troops is consistent with documented patterns across the Mopti-Ségou corridor. Amnesty International documented that Malian authorities have a history of conducting collective reprisals against communities in which JNIM fighters operate, making Fulani civilians doubly vulnerable — targeted by JNIM for cooperating with the state, and targeted by the state for being Fulani.