Islamist militants from an al Qaeda-linked group killed 10 long-haul truck drivers and two teenage apprentices who were travelling through Mali’s western Kayes region in late January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a military-escorted fuel convoy of at least 40 trucks, the HRW report said.
JNIM, which mainly operates in Mali and Burkina Faso, has emerged as the region’s strongest militant group. It aims to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa.
Malian military authorities have turned to armed escorts to ease a fuel supply blockade on the landlocked country imposed by the insurgents.
Witnesses told HRW the convoy, which was supposed to supply fuel to the Kayes region, had left Senegal's capital Dakar on January 27 and crossed Mali's border the next day.
JNIM fighters captured several drivers who abandoned their trucks when the attackers opened fire, later executing 12 while releasing others, the HRW said.
Six drivers have been missing since the attack, the report said.
Mali's truck drivers union told Reuters last month that 15 drivers were captured and executed on the spot during the attack.
Mali's authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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