Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps killed eight civilians, including three children, in Mali last month, Human Rights Watch said on Friday, during air strikes the campaign group called "unlawfully indiscriminate".  

Established by Russia's defence ministry, Africa Corps has largely taken over the mercenary Wagner Group's activities on the continent and is backing operations by Mali's military-led government against armed Islamist groups. 

A HRW investigation found that an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kyrnia in the central Mopti region on June 15.

One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children and another child, while a second strike hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men, HRW said.

It added that no fighters from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam ​wal Muslimin (JNIM) — the al Qaeda-linked group HRW said has controlled the village for the past six years — were believed to have been killed.

"The strikes in Kyrnia did not appear to target specific military objectives, which would make them unlawfully indiscriminate," the rights group said. 

Africa Corps posted aerial footage on Facebook and X of a strike on a village that it said it carried out on June 15, stating that it had attacked a "gathering place of terrorist groups" in the Mopti region. 

HRW said it was able to geolocate that footage to Kyrnia.

Reuters could not independently verify the incident.

Government authorities in Russia and Mali did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. 

MOSCOW BACKS MALI'S FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMIST INSURGENTS

Malian forces have been fighting Islamist insurgents for over a decade, initially with support from France but more recently, following the government's decision to expel French forces, with Russian backing. 

JNIM joined forces with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) separatist group to launch nationwide attacks in April that killed the defence minister and hit Mali's main airport. Russia said last month that its personnel are helping Malian forces regain territory following that offensive.

Both Malian soldiers and their Russian allies have been accused of rights abuses. 

The United Nations and Amnesty International have called for investigations into possible war crimes by JNIM and the FLA.

Monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data found that Mali's military together with Russian paramilitary fighters last year killed 918 civilians, nearly four times the number killed by their main Islamist adversaries. 

Residents of Kyrnia told HRW that, while three of the chief's sons were JNIM fighters, they were not in Kyrnia during last month's air strike. At least 100 JNIM fighters were in the village but were mainly at the mosque, which was not struck, the residents said.

HRW urged Mali's government to investigate the strikes and hold those responsible accountable. 

"By handing the Russian authorities a blank check, the Malian government should be aware that it too is accountable for allied forces' atrocities," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW.