According to Amnesty International: "Amnesty International has documented several cases of extrajudicial executions, unlawful killings and enforced disappearances in Mali between February and March 2020. All the documented incidents occurred in the communes of Diabaly and Dogofry, in the cercle of Niono, in the region of Ségou. They were committed by the security forces as the military scaled up their operations in the wake of attacks by armed groups active in the region. Since Mali is in a state of non-international armed conflict, deliberate killings of civilians and attacks targeting civilians may constitute war crimes. Four days after the 26 January attack against the gendarmerie camp in Sokolo in which at least 20 gendarmes died, the Malian authorities launched a new military operation “Maliko”, on 30 January to replace Operation Dambé. In the framework of Operation Maliko, Malian soldiers intervened in Kogoni-Peulh (commune of Sokolo, cercle de Niono) on 3 February 2020. According to several witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International, Malian soldiers killed one herder at the outskirts of the village and arrested two villagers that day. One of the witnesses reported: “When the soldiers arrived, they started shooting. Many villagers fled, those close to the mosque sounded the alarm and many others fled to the bush, outside of the village. The herder was among the second group, but he was not able to reach the bush. I was also among those who fled. I was able to escape but not him”. Other informants corroborating the testimony of the witness said that the herder was killed while he was driving his cattle, in an attempt to flee from the soldiers. The killing of the herder by the Malian appears to be an unlawful killing and may amount to an extrajudicial execution by the soldiers of an unarmed individual. Amnesty International urges the Malian authorities to investigate this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice." ^[+]