An international human rights group says the West African state of Mali is suffering its worst crisis since independence after a coup in the capital and a rebel takeover in the country’s north.
Amnesty International said Wednesday that all parties to the conflict in Mali’s north were responsible for abuses and that hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting.
Among the abuses Amnesty described are summary executions, arbitrary detentions and sexual assaults including rape.
The north of Mali was taken over by a mix of Tuareg separatist forces and Islamist fighters in late March. The Islamists have been attempting to impose Shariah law, an affront to the region’s moderate interpretation of Islam.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
BCNN1 WP 