A/HRC/25/72 The men faithful to General Sanogo reacted with brutality: at least 4 soldiers were executed and 11 others are unaccounted for, including colonel Youssouf Traoré. 43. On 2 October 2013, a Tuareg member of MNLA was reportedly killed in the locality of Aguelhok by members of the Malian armed forces. According to witnesses, the incident took place when a group of Malian soldiers approached two unarmed members of MNLA and mistreated them. One of the men fled, and the other was killed by a Malian soldier. The incident caused considerable tension in Aguelhok, where other serious incidents were reported on 5 October. 44. On 28 November 2013, 5 civilian members of the Tuareg community, 2 women (aged 23 and 26) and 3 men (aged 16, 19 and 30), were critically injured during violent demonstrations organized at Kidal airport by some 300 MNLA sympathizers to protest the arrival of the Prime Minister in their region. MINUSMA troops and Malian armed forces were deployed in the area to ensure security. The demonstrators reportedly threw stones at the MINUSMA troops and the Malian armed forces that were attempting to prevent them from occupying the runway. The soldiers of the Malian armed forces reportedly opened fire on the demonstrators, critically wounding five persons. One of the victims, a woman, died of her injuries after being evacuated to Bamako. 45. The independent expert is concerned about the recent waves of arrests and arbitrary detentions by the Malian armed forces of persons belonging mostly to Tuareg, Songhai and Arab communities in northern Mali. The arrests are usually ordered following at times false accusations made by members of local militia or the population. The arrests and arbitrary detentions are having an adverse impact on the return of displaced persons and refugees to their region of origin. 46. The independent expert noted the case of a traditional Tuareg chief who earlier had fled to Burkina Faso and who was arrested on 16 November after returning to northern Mali to take part in the legislative election campaign. He was reportedly accused by the local population of collaboration with armed jihadi groups during the occupation. The detainee, who later was transferred to Bamako, denied the allegations and maintained that he had been living in Burkina Faso since February 2011. Owing to the weak presence of the judicial system in the north, it is not possible to verify such allegations expeditiously or to free the persons concerned in the absence of evidence. In fact, in many cases, persons freed by the gendarmerie after an inconclusive investigation have then been arrested by the Malian armed forces on the basis of the same allegations. This interference by the army in legal proceedings concerning civilians also gives cause for concern. 47. The independent expert has also received reports of cases of ill-treatment and abductions. For example, it was reported that on 3 November 2013 three Tuareg dignitaries of the Ifoghas community were badly beaten about the head by two members of the Malian armed forces during a patrol in Tarssek, near Kidal. One of them lost consciousness and the other fell to the ground and was unable to stand up. Cases of ill-treatment inflicted by the Malian armed forces have also been reported in a number of villages in the north. 48. On 23 July, members of the Malian armed forces who were part of a military assistance and training detachment reportedly stopped their vehicle and arrested a 28-yearold teacher of Songhai origin in Mopti. The family still has no news of the victim. The victim’s mother lodged a complaint at the Mopti police station and court, but no action was taken. 49. The independent expert also received consistent reports of the exhumation in July 2013 in the vicinity of Timbuktu of the bodies of six Arab dignitaries, including an elderly man named Ali Ould Kabbad. The victims were last seen alive when they were being arrested by soldiers of the Malian armed forces. 10 GE.14-10118