Mali's Army Accused of Abuses and Unlawful Killings as War Rages

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: The Guardian (UK)

There are growing reports of extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in Mali, as troops battle Islamist militants in the west African country. Residents of Mopti, in the centre of the country, told the Observer of arrests, interrogations and the torture of innocents by the Malian army of those mistakenly suspected of involvement in rebel activity.

"One day my son just disappeared," said a woman from the Fulani ethnic group, who asked not to be named. "We looked for him there for two or three days, but couldn't find him. Then some people told us that on the day he left, the army shot two people and put them in a pit inside the military base."

The victim's cousin, who also asked to remain anonymous for fears of reprisals, said: "We are Fulani people, the soldiers can tell from our dress that we come from the north. Because of that, the army suspects us – if we look like Fulani and don't have an identity card, they kill us. But many people are born in the small villages and it's very difficult to have identification. We are all afraid," the cousin continued. "There are some households where Fulanis or others who are fair-skinned don't go out any more. We have stopped wearing our traditional clothes – we are being forced to abandon our culture, and to stay indoors."

Amnesty International says that it has documented evidence of abuse by the Malian army, including extrajudicial killings. It says that in September, a group of 16 Muslim preachers composed of Malian and Mauritanian nationals were arrested then executed by the Malian military in Diabaly. Some commentators in Mali speculate that the occupation of Diabaly by Islamist fighters – whom French and Malian soldiers said they had defeated on Friday – was sparked by vengeance for the actions of the Malian army there.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/mali-army-suspected-abuses-killings

[msongs]

1. unlawful killings? like the US does with drones? nt

[Igel]

8. Yup.

And, don't you know, that's what it's all about.

Until the US is perfect, there are absolutely no moral standards for any other country in the world. After all, if the very best can't get it right every single time, how can lesser people ever be expected to have a chance? America, that shining city on the hill, is the one proper yardstick against which to compare all others.

Although it's surprising to see a vote for the belief that Americans are morally superior to others, whether Africans, Arabs, or Chinese, from a DUer.

(/sarcasm off)


A oost inadequate and unworthy as an attempt at a tu quoque fallacy.

[redgreenandblue]

2. Another ethnical conflict in which the West takes sides and encourages atrocities against one side,

while exploiting atrocities of the other side for demonization and legitimizing the war.

[MrSlayer]

3. Abuses? Killings? In WAR??!?

Say it isn't so. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

What are we expecting from this war? Fairness? Compassion?

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. You have heard of the laws of war, no?

Your comment comes off as apologia for war crimes and human rights abuses.

[Igel]

9. Racism, religious intolerance.

All the usual things that often follow warfare, all the usual things that we overlook.

The Malian government troops and the French are the good guys.

If they're good guys, then they're good.

The good do not engage in ethnic cleansing, murders, rapes.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that the Malian troops aren't and cannot be engaged in ethnic cleansing, murders, rapes.

Problem solved. Assuming that we like our absurdly false premise.


Now, the trick is to remember this when judging those closer to home.

[daleo]

10. If the good guys are no better than the bad guys, what's the point of choosing one over the other?

Other than pure self-interest, which actually means the financial interests of corporations and rich shareholders.

[LiberalLovinLug]

11. That IS the point

As Dubya famously said: "Money sometimes trumps peace"

[Victor_c3]

4. war brings out the worst in people n/t

[RILib]

5. another foreign policy triumph for Clinton/Obama

I told you so. But I'm sure Israel is happy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/world/africa/in-chaos-in-north-africa-a-grim-side-of-arab-spring.html

[leveymg]

6. The rush to return North Africa to a colony is more France's doing, but we helped.

Here's more from that unusually critical NYT article:

Coming just four months after an American ambassador was killed by jihadists in Libya, those assaults have contributed to a sense that North Africa — long a dormant backwater for Al Qaeda — is turning into another zone of dangerous instability, much like Syria, site of an increasingly bloody civil war. The mayhem in this vast desert region has many roots, but it is also a sobering reminder that the euphoric toppling of dictators in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt has come at a price.

“It’s one of the darker sides of the Arab uprisings,” said Robert Malley, the Middle East and North Africa director at the International Crisis Group. “Their peaceful nature may have damaged Al Qaeda and its allies ideologically, but logistically, in terms of the new porousness of borders, the expansion of ungoverned areas, the proliferation of weapons, the disorganization of police and security services in all these countries — it’s been a real boon to jihadists.”

The crisis in Mali is not likely to end soon, with the militants ensconcing themselves among local people and digging fortifications. It could also test the fragile new governments of Libya and its neighbors, in a region where any Western military intervention arouses bitter colonial memories and provides a rallying cry for Islamists.