Voice of America
28 Mar 2023, 20:05 GMT+10
Paris - West Africa's Sahel region saw mounting violence and a rollback in free expression last year, rights group Amnesty International says in its latest annual report, released Tuesday.
Amnesty International says that for Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger - 2022 was an especially grim year. The countries saw an uptick in civilian killings compared to 2021, as they battle an ongoing jihadi insurgency in the region.
"We are talking about 9,000 civilians killed due to the conflict - and increase of 54% compared to 2021," said Ousmane Diallo, Sahel researcher for Amnesty's Dakar office.
He says governments in these three countries are increasingly disregarding human rights. One big thing that's changed in the region over 2022: reports of the growing presence in some places of the Wagner Group, a private Russian mercenary company.
Violence Soars in Mali in The Year After Russians Arrive
Mali and Burkina Faso have also seen coup d'etats over the past two years.
"I think there is certainly a strong link between these military takeovers and some of the abuses of human rights... I specifically want to cite here freedom of expression and press freedom in Mali and Burkina Faso... that have been under strong attacks by these military governments," he said.
Burkina Faso Imposes Curfews to Help Fight Jihadis
Diallo gives the example of Malian journalist Malick Konate, who was forced into exile for reportedly shooting footage for French TV that showed Wagner's presence in Mali.
"The situation of Malik Konate is not a unique one. Many other actors -whether journalists or human rights defenders of political actors - have been forced to exile due to these attacks against freedom of expression and press freedom," he said.
Even Senegal, considered one of West Africa's most successful democracies, has lost points, Diallo says, when it comes to civil liberties. It's president, Macky Sall, is considering running for a third term - which the opposition asserts would be unconstitutional.
Protests in Senegal Turn Violent as Opposition Leader Heads to Court
"The situation in Senegal has dramatically worsened over the last two years. We have seen a lot of abuses against freedom of peaceful assembly - whether the right to protest by the opposition, by civil society members, is often rejected by administrative Authorities due to risk of disturbing public order without giving any specifics about it. But also, freedom of expression and press freedom," said Diallo.
Amnesty also criticizes forced deportations under agreements aimed to control migration - including Algeria's expulsion of thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants to northern Niger in recent years. Reports say many are dumped into the desert with little food or water. Algeria denies such accusations, calling them "malicious."
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationGOODLETTSVILLE, Tennessee: Dollar General is bracing for a challenging year ahead, forecasting weaker-than-expected sales and profits...
SANTA CLARA, California: Intel's stock soared nearly 15 percent this week following the announcement that former board member Lip-Bu...
DETROIT, Michigan: Volkswagen's decision to scale back production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant has sparked backlash from the...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Spotify set a new milestone in 2024, paying out US$10 billion in royalties—the highest annual payout to the music...
NEW DELHI, India: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has decided against manufacturing electric vehicles at Tata Motors' upcoming $1 billion factory...
LONDON, U.K.: Virgin Group is seeking to raise $900 million to fund its plan to launch cross-channel rail services, positioning itself...
Cape Town [South Africa], March 17 (ANI): Promising all-rounder and ICC Emerging Women's Player of the Year 2024 Annerie Dercksen has...
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 17 (ANI): Female cheetah 'Gamini' along with her two male cubs and two female cubs were successfully...
New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met with a Vietnamese parliamentary delegation during their visit to...
Rwanda on Monday severed its diplomatic relations with Belgium and ordered all Belgian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.KIGALI,...
DUBAI, 17th March, 2025 (WAM) -- The 21st edition of Dubai WoodShow, the premier platform for the wood and woodworking machinery industry...
People walk past a sign displaying the dollar exchange rate at a bank branch in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 4, 2025. The 25-percent...