Tabital Pulaaku International, an association promoting the rights and culture of the Fulani group, demands that the Malian authorities “release without delay” former MP Idrissa Sankaré, who has been missing for three weeks. Idrissa Sankaré, third vice-president of Tabital Pulaaku Mali also, was taken away on August 14 in Bamako. Several sources say he is being held in a secret State Security prison, this cannot be verified as the Malian government has made no official announcement. The President of Tabital Pulaaku Senegal and vice-president of Tabital Pulaaku International, Fary Silate Ka, made a tense statement. He described the incident as kidnapping and claimed that by these methods the Malian authorities are trying to put pressure on the international organization or wipe it off the face of the earth.
Fary Silate Ka said, “Tabital Pulaaku is apolitical it has always braved government pressures on various fronts since 2021. The association said the kidnapping was connected to a forthcoming replacement of Tabital Pulaaku Mali leaders, an event originally planned for mid-September but now pushed back until later in that month with fingers crossed on Sankaré’s freedom.
The body that backs the national army in its war on terror has also denounced transgressions against the Fulani ethnic group frequently linked to jihadists. They have denounced what they say are abuses carried out by the Malian army and their Dozo hunter auxiliaries.
Tabital Pulaaku International urges authorities to ensure that any actions against Sankaré follow legal procedures and be transparent about the accusations against him. The Malian transitional government has not yet officially commented on his disappearance.
Human Rights Watch has reported that Malian armed forces and foreign fighters apparently from the Russia-linked Wagner Group have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared several dozen civilians in Mali’s central region since late 2022. Most of the victims were from the pastoralist Peul, or Fulani, ethnic groups.
The attacks, which occurred amid recurrent tit-for-tat killings and communal violence in central Mali, violate international humanitarian law and constitute apparent war crimes. HRW has urged the authorities to take action to halt the deadly cycles of violence and revenge killings and to better safeguard threatened civilians.
The abduction of ex-MP Idrissa Sankaré is the latest in a series of worrying disappearances in Mali. A former member of the National Assembly, Sankaré is known for his involvement with ASMA and for defending the interests of local communities, particularly the Peuls, who are often targeted in inter-communal violence.
Human Rights Watch has also reported on threats, harassment, intimidation, and enforced disappearances of journalists, bloggers, and civil society activists in Mali. The organization has expressed concern over the lack of progress in government investigations into several incidents of reported abuse by security forces
