New Report Traces the Fragmented Chain of Responsibility Behind Mali’s Expanding Deadly Air Campaign

Three years into the Alliance of Sahel States’ air war, The Sentry’s new report asks who is accountable when civilians are killed?

September 16, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) – Three years after Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a new report by The Sentry examines the opaque and unaccountable chain of command behind the alliance’s expanding air campaign in Mali and examines a critical question: when civilians are killed, who is accountable?

The Sentry’s report identifies a fragmented system of control where the Turkish company Baykar manufactures the combat drones used in the campaign, Mali’s national security agency, the Agence nationale de la sécurité d’État (ANSE), purchases them, and the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) operate them. Meanwhile, Africa Corps pilots stationed at FAMA bases operate Russian aircraft, with Russian commanders ultimately approving or rejecting drone strikes.

Among the report’s findings is a $210 million contract signed in August 2024 for six Turkish-made Akıncı combat drones. The agreement was signed not by Mali’s Ministry of Defense, but by Colonel Modibo Koné, the ANSE Director General who reports directly to President Assimi Goïta. ANSE received roughly $30 million under Mali’s 2024 finance law, raising questions as to how the agency’s own resources could cover the price of these drones. The Sentry found no public record accounting for the source of the money.

“Mali’s expanding air war has created a troubling accountability gap,” said Justyna Guzowska, Executive Director of The Sentry. “When each actor controls only one part of the system, from manufacturing and financing to operating aircraft and approving targets, responsibility for what happens to innocent civilians killed in these air strikes becomes dangerously unclear.”

The Sentry’s report also examines contractual terms that allow Baykar to withdraw without liability if it cannot obtain an export license for a single component, while providing Mali with no equivalent protection from payment obligations in the event of circumstances including war, a coup, or an embargo.

Ultimately, the consequences of the opaque system that the report reveals are severe. Rights groups have called for some of the deaths resulting from FAMA and Africa Corps strikes to be investigated as potential war crimes, but the fragmented chain of command raises questions about who should be held accountable. 

The Sentry is calling on licensing authorities in Ukraine, Canada, and other states whose components are documented in aircraft operating Mali to review the licenses to sell to Baykar. The Sentry also recommends sanctioning authorities in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia designate ANSE Director General Modibo Koné, consistent with The Sentry’s April 2026 recommendation.

Read the report: https://thesentry.org/reports/responsible-malis-air-war/

Media contact:
Kria Sakakeeny, [email protected]

About The Sentry: The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. Our investigations follow the money as it is laundered from war zones to financial centers around the world. We provide evidence and strategies for governments, banks, and law enforcement to hold the perpetrators and enablers of violence and corruption to account. These efforts provide new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Learn more at: https://TheSentry.org