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Articles by Corinne Dufka
Mali’s Jihadists Look to Syria as a Template for Wielding Power
Last month, Islamist insurgents in Mali nearly toppled the military junta running the landlocked West African nation, and they still might. In a stunning offensive that was coordinated with Tuareg separatist fighters, thousands of jihadists from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked army bases hundreds of miles apart, killed the defense minister in a daring attack near the capital, Bamako, and captured several strategic towns in the north.
The War Photographer Who Had to Do Something Else
This Is War evolved out of my work as a photographer covering some of the bloodiest conflicts of the late 20th century. The imagery is not pretty, nor could it be. But seeing it—looking squarely at the misery delivered by leaders who promised to do good for their people—is important. More than that, refusing to see it, whether out of personal or political discomfort, is a form of misinformation. The book tells the story of war through the experiences of both civilians and combatants.
West Africa: Armed Islamists' Latest Sahel Massacre Targets Burkina Faso
More than 500 Civilians Killed by Armed Islamists in the Sahel Since Early 2021 Just after 2 a.m. on June 5, armed Islamist fighters stormed an artisanal gold mining site outside Solhan village in Burkina Faso's northeastern Yagha province. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the attackers opened fire on everyone that moved, killing over 140 people. Some villagers were shot as they ran for cover; others while they cowered in houses and shops, others as they begged for their lives.
Mali: When Will There Be Justice for Mali Massacre?
Two Years Since Over 150 Civilians Killed in Ogossagou Village The worst atrocity in Mali's recent history occurred two years ago, on March 23, when over 150 civilians were massacred in Ogossagou village. Dozens of survivors described to Human Rights Watch how heavily armed ethnic Dogon men attacked the village in central Mali, accusing ethnic Peuhl residents of supporting armed Islamist groups.
Burkina Faso : Flambée d’atrocités commises par des islamistes armés
(New York) – Au Burkina Faso, depuis avril 2019, des groupes islamistes armés ont tué plus de 250 civils dans des attaques ciblées et des exécutions sommaires, a déclaré Human Rights Watch aujourd’hui. Des témoins ont affirmé que les assaillants tentaient de justifier leurs meurtres en établissant un lien entre leurs victimes et le gouvernement, l’Occident ou la foi chrétienne. La recrudescence d’attaques, ces derniers mois, a amené des centaines de milliers de civils à fuir leurs domiciles.
Opinion | Burkina Faso’s atrocities in the name of security will help terrorists’ ranks
Corinne Dufka is West Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Burkina Faso is in the grips of a dangerous threat from armed Islamist fighters who are murdering civilians and threatening to destabilize other West African countries. But the government’s abusive counterinsurgency strategy, notably the summary execution of suspects, risks inflaming the conflict by driving more people into the hands of Islamist militant recruiters.
Resignation Confirms Fears of Delay in Guinea Stadium Massacre Trial
In Guinea’s capital, Conakry, family members cry after identifying the body of a relative killed on September 28, 2009, when security forces fired on opposition supporters as they marched to and later held a rally in the September 28 Stadium. The body of their relative was one of 57 dead displayed at the Grand Fayçal Mosque on October 2, 2009.
Guinea’s Efforts to Ban Protests Undermines Rights
Anti-riot police clash with Guinean opposition supporters in Conakry on March 22, 2018. © 2018 CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Images This might be the calm before the storm in Guinea. President Alpha Condé, first elected in 2010, will reach the end of his second term in 2020.
Ethnic Militias wreaking havoc across Mali
Ethnic militias have killed over 200 civilians and burned dozens of villages in communal violence in central Mali during 2018, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Most victims have been ethnic Peuhl villagers targeted by Dogon and Bambara “self-defense groups” for their alleged support of Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda.
Africa: Remembering Peter Takirambudde
column By Corinne DufkaWe at Human Rights Watch remember Dr. Peter Takirambudde, head of our Africa division from 1996 to 2008, with great respect and affection. We were deeply saddened to learn of his passing on November 16 in his native Uganda. Peter hired me as the Sierra Leone researcher in 1999, when it was in the throes of a civil war.
Mali: Unchecked Abuses in Military Operations
(Nairobi) – Mali and Burkina Faso military operations to counter the growing presence of Islamist armed groups in central Mali have resulted in serious human rights violations. Since late 2016, Malian forces have committed extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary arrests against men accused of supporting Islamist armed groups, while a June 2017 cross-border operation by Burkinabe forces left two suspects dead.
Il n’y a pas d’issue militaire au bourbier malien - JeuneAfrique.com
« Les djihadistes font la loi maintenant », m’a dit un vieil homme. « Le jour même où a pris fin l’opération menée par la France, les islamistes étaient de retour dans les villages », a précisé un autre, faisant référence à l’intervention militaire mise en place en avril près de la frontière entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso.
Military Might Alone Won’t Pull Mali From Quagmire
French soldiers from Operation Barkhane stand outside their armored personnel carrier during a sandstorm in Inat, Mali, May 26, 2016. © 2016 Reuters “The jihadists are the law now,” an elder from central Mali told me. “The very day the French-supported operation finished, the Islamists were back in the villages,” confided another villager last week, referring to a military operation near the Mali-Burkina Faso border in April.
Gambia | Human Rights Watch
Forced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights violations continue under the government of President Yahya Jammeh, who came to power in a military coup in 1994. Gambian authorities routinely target voices of dissent, including journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and critics, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Mali: Confronting Mali's New Jihadist Threat
By Corinne DufkaHe sat quietly drinking tea on a December morning in a village in central Mali. But Amadou, a local chief from the Segou region whose name I have changed for his protection, was worried. "I know of 10 young men who've joined the jihadists in recent months," he said.
Faire face à la nouvelle menace djihadiste au Mali
Mais en 2015, un nouveau groupe islamiste est apparu dans les régions du centre et du sud du Mali auparavant stables. Le groupe, qui semble être la dernière émanation d’Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique et est souvent désigné comme le Front de libération du Macina, a attaqué des postes militaires et exécuté des maires et des conseillers municipaux.
Confronting Mali’s New Jihadist Threat
Since early 2015, I’ve documented more than 25 execution-style killings by these Islamists. In March a village chief described how the militants gunned down his son in retaliation for his cooperation with the military. Residents of another village described seeing Islamist fighters detain a man accused of being an informant.
Mali: Abuses Spread South
A Peuhl chief said the Islamists were exploiting both Peuhl-Tuareg communal tensions and longstanding anger with the central government to recruit young men in central Mali: In contrast, Dogon leaders said the Islamists operating in areas near the border with Burkina Faso were abusive, engaged in frequent criminality, and were exploiting communal tensions between them and the Malian Peuhl over land and grazing.
Rwanda genocide: Right groups urge probe on French troops as new document revealed
Human right groups have called for an investigation of French soldiers suspected of complicity during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which more than 800,000 people – mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus – were killed. The International Federation of Human Rights and two other groups have accused French troops who were active in the African nation in 1994 of abandoning Tutsis who were later killed by extremist Hutus.
Côte d’Ivoire: Respect Rights During Elections
(Abidjan) – All political actors in Cote d’Ivoire should make a commitment to peaceful elections, 15 Ivorian and international organizations said today, several days before the first round of presidential elections. The groups expressed their concern over the treatment of a number of opposition activists detained over their involvement in unauthorized protests.
Guinea: Security Force Excesses, Crimes
(Dakar) – Some members of Guinea’s security forces used excessive lethal force, engaged in abusive conduct, and displayed a lack of political neutrality when responding to election-related opposition protests in April and May 2015, Human Rights Watch said. Members of the police force were most frequently implicated in the abuses, revealing an urgent need for accountability, better command responsibility, and training.
Senegal: Decade of Abuse in Quranic Schools
(Dakar) – Senegal has prosecuted only a handful of cases involving children who are trafficked and forced to beg by abusive teachers in Quranic schools despite a decade-old law outlawing the practice, Human Rights Watch and the Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH), a coalition of 40 Senegalese organizations, said today. Tens of thousands of children face rampant abuse and exploitation despite the 2005 law, the groups said.
Mali: Lawlessness, Abuses Imperil Population
(Bamako) – The Malian government should act to curtail rising violent crime and abuses by armed groups and state security forces that threaten the security of the population in northern and central Mali, Human Rights Watch said today. Two years after a French-led military intervention in the embattled country, there remains widespread lawlessness and insecurity.
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