According to Human Rights Watch: "Human Rights Watch interviewed 34 men who had been detained by the security forces in the course of operations in northern and central Mali from December 2014 to late February 2015. The majority were ethnic Peuhl detained in central Mali in reaction to recent attacks there. The detainees described numerous incidents of mistreatment including physical and psychological abuse – notably death threats, torture, and denial of food, water, and medical care. The most frequent and serious abuse was meted out by army soldiers, and occurred in the first few days after they were detained. Most detainees said the abuse stopped after they were handed over to gendarmes. [...] In one case, soldiers from the Nampala army base allegedly committed serious abuses against 18 detainees held over two days in late January or early February. From the moment of their arrest from several surrounding villages, the men described being kicked, beaten, pummeled with rifle butts, and, during one night, forced to drink urine and threatened with death. A 31-year-old man with a 2-inch scar on the back of his head described what happened to the detainees: We were all in one cell, seated with our hands bound and eyes banded. They [the soldiers] came in every so often and kicked and whapped us so many times. They said, “You are rebels … we will take you out this night and kill all of you.” At one point we heard them urinating in a bottle in front of our cell; they came inside, positioned themselves on either side of each of us, and forced us to drink it … those who refused were beaten, and forced, by holding our heads back, to drink … others had it poured into their noses. Later, they threw dirty water on us, and throughout the night walked around the cell beating and insulting us." ^[+]