Paris, 7 May 2026. Since the attacks in Mali, on 25 and 26 April 2026, several political opponents and critics have been abducted in disturbing circumstances. The FIDH condemns the enforced disappearances, the incitement of violence, and the harassment of human rights defenders and dissidents.
Three political figures were abducted in Bamako by armed and hooded men travelling in unregistered vehicles between May 2 and 5: Mr Mountaga Tall, a lawyer and a leading figure in Mali’s democratic struggle; Moussa Djiré, known as Abba, president of the Yiriba 223 movement; and Youssouf Daba Diawara, former head of the Coordination of Movements, Associations and Supporters of Imam Mahmoud Dicko (CMAS). Their whereabouts and fate remain unknown.
The modus operandi is similar to that used by the Agence nationale de la sécurité d’État (ANSE), which has been implicated in several cases of abductions and enforced disappearances since 2021. Judicial authorities have yet to open any investigations into any of these cases.
"These enforced disappearances mark a new phase in the crackdown on critical voices in Mali. Authorities must provide information immediately on the fate of the persons abducted, guarantee their safety, and launch independent investigations . The Malian authorities cannot respond to the growing security crisis with abductions, enforced disappearances and incitement to hatred. The fight against jihadism cannot be used to justify the disregard for the rule of law", explained Drissa Taoré, Secretary General, FIDH.
The FIDH has expressed grave concerns over the increase in hate speech and calls for violence circulated on social media by activists close to military authorities. Human rights defenders in exile and journalists and their families are being subjected to death threats, smear campaigns, harassment, and calls for the revocation of their citizenship.
At the funeral of Defence Minister, General Sadio Camara, who was killed in the attacks on 25 April, Aboubacar Sidiki Fomba, a member of the National Transitional Council (CNT), publicly called for dissidents living abroad to be "killed" and "stripped of their nationality". Despite the public prosecutor’s statement against online hate speech, no legal action has yet to be brought against the perpetrators. The violations are taking place in a context of continuous and drastic shrinking of civic space, created since the coups d’état in 2020 and 2021. In May 2025, political parties were dissolved, in violation of the Malian Constitution.
The attacks on 25 and 26 April, claimed in particular by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin-JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (ALF), resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians and military officials. Once again, the FIDH condemns the abuses, as well as the serious breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the groups mentioned above. The FIDH also condemns the attacks carried out by alleged members of JNIM against the civilian population in the villages of Kori-kori and Gomossogou, in the Bandiagara region, on 6 May. The FIDH reiterates its call on all parties to the conflict to observe human rights and international humanitarian law. It urges the international community to renew its efforts to find lasting solutions to the ongoing security and political crisis in the Sahel, in order to safeguard human rights and protect the civilians caught in the crossfire between armed groups and the Malian armed forces.
The FIDH calls on Malian authorities to put an immediate end to enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and acts of intimidation targeting government critics, and also calls for impartial investigations into the public calls for violence and the death threats circulating online.