ICC Urged to Investigate Wagner's Promotion of Atrocities in Africa – AP

A confidential legal report accusing the Wagner mercenary group of committing war crimes by sharing footage of apparent atrocities in Africa has been submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Associated Press reported Monday.

The report, which describes instances of torture, mutilation, extrajudicial killings and cannibalism allegedly perpetrated by the group, calls on the ICC to investigate the actions of Wagner-linked individuals as well as the governments of Mali and Russia.

“Wagner has deftly leveraged information and communications technologies to cultivate and promote its global brand as ruthless mercenaries. Their Telegram network in particular, which depicts their conduct across the Sahel, serves as a proud public display of their brutality,” the AP quoted Lindsay Freeman, director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, as saying.

The report submitted to the ICC argues that the circulation of material depicting atrocities constitutes a war crime in addition to the actions themselves.

“The real force of these stories comes from the fascination and force they create,” the AP quoted Daniel Hoffman, an international relations professor at the University of Washington, as saying. “Whether it is Wagner or local fighters or political leaders, being associated with cannibalism or ritual killings or mutilations is being associated with an extreme form of power.”

Wagner announced it had completed its mission in Mali and was withdrawing from the country earlier this month.

Forces from the Russian Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps, which absorbed the mercenaries’ operations, remain in Mali.

According to U.S. officials, approximately 2,000 Russian fighters are currently stationed in the country, assisting national armed forces in countering insurgents and terrorist groups.

The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission withdrew from Mali in December 2023 at the local government’s request.