Mali civilians facing violence from armed groups: HRW

News

Mali civilians facing violence from armed groups: HRW

February 13, 2020 08:04:23 am

Mali civilians are facing violence and atrocities at the hands of armed groups, according to a report published Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The report stated that “[v]iolence in central Mali has been escalating steadily since 2015, when armed Islamist groups largely allied to the militant Islamist group Al Qaeda began moving from northern into central Mali.” The report details a number of attacks where civilians were both killed and wounded. The report also details a number of specific attacks that occurred in 2019.

The report lists a number of recommendations in light of HRW’s findings, including a recommendation to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. HRW condemned these attacks and urged authorities to protect civilians.

THIS DAY @ LAW

WWI gas attack on Canadians led to first chemical weapons ban

On April 24, 1915, the German army used chlorine gas against Canadian troops at Ypres. Gas was later employed by British and French forces against the Germans. Learn more about early efforts by the Red Cross to ban chemical weapons and review the June 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.

Library of Congress created

On April 24, 1800, U.S. President John Adams approved $5,000 to fund the establishment of the U.S. Library of Congress.

Learn more about the history of the U.S. Library of Congress.