As central Mali sinks ever deeper into an unrelenting cycle of violence, the statement issued by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) following the attacks on Ningari and Sarédina exposes the deep structural flaws in the transitional government’s security approach.
The pattern has become tragically familiar: villages overrun, unarmed civilians executed, homes set ablaze, followed by the inevitable wave of official statements expressing outrage and sympathy. The latest atrocities in the Bandiagara area, specifically in Ningari and Sarédina, highlight a stark reality that official rhetoric tries to hide: despite triumphant claims about the growing strength of the Malian armed forces (FAMa), the day-to-day protection of citizens remains a glaring failure.
The illusion of territorial control and the abandonment of civilians
The CNDH’s statement, signed by its interim president, Aissata Founè Tembely, serves as a blunt wake-up call to the authorities in Bamako. By stressing that the security of people and property is the state’s ‘primary sovereign duty,’ the CNDH effectively points to administrative and military shortcomings on the ground.
In the Dogon country, the security vacuum created by the absence or ineffectiveness of continuous state presence leaves communities at the mercy of terrorist armed groups. While public discourse focuses on national sovereignty and media management, the fundamental social contract between the state and its citizens in the central region has been broken. Sovereignty cannot be measured by the strength of speeches in Bamako, but by the real ability to protect the life of a farmer or trader in Ningari.
Entrenched impunity and the hollow promise of investigations
As with every tragedy, the CNDH calls for ‘independent and impartial’ investigations to bring perpetrators to justice. But how credible are these calls when the judicial system is effectively paralyzed in conflict zones?
The accumulation of massacres without any significant trial to assign responsibility fuels a devastating sense of impunity. In the absence of concrete prosecutions, demands for investigations begin to resemble a bureaucratic ritual designed to fill an institutional void. This absentee justice erodes public trust in the state and inevitably drives communities toward self-defense groups or opportunistic alliances, further fragmenting the social fabric.
The trap of a military-only strategy and humanitarian law violations
By urging the FAMa to strictly adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the CNDH also warns of the dangers of a purely military strategy without safeguards. In their pursuit of terrorist groups, security forces and their auxiliaries are frequently accused by civil society of indiscriminate actions and abuses against local populations.
This approach, which prioritizes body counts and flashy media moments over lasting community security, produces the opposite of the intended effect. Each mistake or summary execution becomes a prime recruiting tool for extremist groups. By reminding that the fight against terrorism cannot bypass human rights, the CNDH cautions: a military victory achieved at the expense of the law is an illusion that sows the seeds of future revolts.
The CNDH’s warning is clear. If the transitional authorities continue to favor political posturing and security-focused communication over real, impartial, and judicial protection of their citizens, Mali risks losing far more than territory—it will lose the very legitimacy of its state.
