Hombori massacre
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500–600 arrested
Malian Armed Forces
Wagner Group| Hombori massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Mali War | |
  Hombori Hombori (Mali) | |
 | |
| Location | Hombori, Mali |
| Date | 19 April 2022 |
| Victims | 50+ civilians killed 500–600 arrested |
| Perpetrators | Malian Armed Forces Wagner Group |
| Motive | Retaliation to a bombing |
The Hombori massacre took place on 19 April 2022. It was perpetrated by the Malian Army and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, when they opened fire on a market in Hombori, Mali.
Around 9:30 a.m. on 19 April, a Malian army vehicle ran over an IED outside of Hombori, killing a Wagner mercenary. The Malian and Russian troops then proceeded to walk over to the market square in Hombori, and opened fire on the crowd gathered there due to the town's market day.[1] A Malian aid worker present at the scene later stated that
"It was a fair day. A few terrorists were in hiding. There were firefights. Then the soldiers attacked everyone, assaulting the inhabitants, robbing them of their jewellery, money and telephone, while others fired in all directions."[2]
The market shooting killed around 50 civilians.[3] Immediately following the massacre, Malian and Russian soldiers detained around 500 civilians at the local base in Hombori.[4] Days later, one Malian soldier shot 20 out of the 27 detained civilians at the base.[4] Two more detainees were tortured to death.[5] The rest of the 500 were freed later.[4] The victims of the market massacre also included a woman and a child.[4]
