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Girls and women fleeing Mali describe sexual violence by Russian forces (www.ap.org)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/worldnews@sh.itjust.works
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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/44154828

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/44154827

While interviewing Malian refugees about alleged abuses by Russia’s newly deployed Africa Corps military unit, West Africa correspondent Monika Pronczuk and freelancer Caitlin Kelly encountered a teenage girl lying on the ground in a tent, visibly ill and barely responsive. Her family said she had been raped by Africa Corps fighters — and hadn’t received medical care because they couldn’t afford it.

Pronczuk and Kelly immediately connected the family with a Doctors Without Borders clinic offering free treatment. The girl’s story became the emotional and narrative center of the second installment in AP’s investigation into Africa Corps, this time focusing on sexual violence in the conflict-ravaged region of Mali, where Russian forces and the Malian government continue to target al-Qaida-linked militants.

Their reporting revealed disturbing new details about how women and girls are suffering in silence in areas where few international observers are allowed. The team spoke with multiple survivors and documented accounts that painted a broader picture of abuse by all sides in the conflict — but with particular focus on the conduct of Russian-aligned troops now operating under direct Kremlin control.

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[–] 12 points 10 months ago

I was in Mali earlier this year shooting a documentary and stayed for about a month. Malians are some of then nicest most kind people I have ever come across on my journies. They go so far out of their way to help anyone in need or for even a small kind gesture.

When I was there a leader of a village told me about a story about an incident a few years back when a Russian military group was in town looking for Muslim extremists. They would go around every day for months rounding up men from the village and would shoot them and throw them in a pit and burn it. The leader told me how every morning they would wake up to gun shots and would have to ask around town to figure out who had been taken and killed that day.

Was one of the most horrific stories I have ever heard from another human being.

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    [–] 4 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Soldiers and rape, name a more iconic duo

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    • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    A world without Russia or Russians would be a wonderful world.

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  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

    Some would say the same of the US, or China, or <insert big power with a “throwing power around for the sake of self-interest” problem>. Blanket statements like these are the reason this and other conflicts even exist.

    How about a world without nationalities, countries, and politicians? Now, that would be amazing.

    Edit: typos, formatting

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