A/HRC/43/76 34. The Independent Expert has received credible reports that several police officers deliberately damaged property, including cars, during a demonstration against the establishment of the headquarters of the G5 Sahel Joint Force in a district of Bamako. The demonstration had degenerated and several arrests had been made. It is his understanding that the Malian police opened an internal investigation and that several police officers have been identified. 35. There are reports that members of MINUSMA arbitrarily arrested 10 persons, including a woman and a 15-year-old boy, following an explosive device attack on the Douentza-Boni road on 20 April 2019, which resulted in the death of one peacekeeper and injuries to four others. One of the persons arrested, a man, died the same day in unclear circumstances. The Independent Expert has learned from reliable sources that five of the remaining nine detainees bore visible signs of physical assault by MINUSMA. All the prisoners were finally released on 23 April 2019, their presumed guilt in the explosive device attack never having been proved. After being released, the injured nevertheless continued to access treatment in the MINUSMA clinic in Timbuktu, before finally leaving the health centre on 26 April. 2. Human rights violations committed by armed groups 36. The Independent Expert notes with concern that civilians working for the Malian Government are often the target of deadly attacks. The mayor of Wadouba commune, in Mopti region, was abducted on 8 August 2019 and his body was found by relatives the next day in bushes not far from the village. Witnesses reported that the attackers had been dressed as traditional hunters (dozos). The Independent Expert was also informed that, on 6 October 2019, presumed extremist elements set fire to the town hall of Bingha commune and the residence of its secretary-general, in Timbuktu region. 37. Armed groups are terrorizing the population. The Independent Expert has learned that, on 27 November 2019, around noon, an unknown number of men, allegedly members of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, reportedly attacked the village of Tamkoutat, in Gao region. The attackers reportedly killed two men (aged 38 and 46 years) and stole a vehicle. They also abducted the head of the village, who was also the village’s religious leader. The attackers reportedly hit a number of men during the attack. On 28 November 2019, at about 11 a.m., the village chief was released and told to leave. The attackers reportedly told the villagers to leave the village before they returned, without saying when that would be. Some residents had already fled, seeking refuge in the neighbouring villages. In July 2019, members of a violent extremist group in the Timbuktu region had beheaded a marabout. The murder had been filmed and broadcast on social media (the killers allegedly used a different Fulani language from Burkina Faso). On 23 November 2019, at about 3 a.m., four armed men on motorcycles, belonging to extremist groups, abducted two men between the towns of Léré and Nampula, in Timbuktu region. At the time of writing of the present report, their whereabouts remained unclear. The Independent Expert was informed of numerous similar kidnappings in the Timbuktu region in recent months. Another harassment strategy was used on 15 August 2019 by suspected members of violent extremist groups that had broken into a mosque in the village of Fatakara, Timbuktu, and had demanded that the local population comply with their interpretation of Islam and stop sending their children to public schools. The Independent Expert also learned that extremist elements had laid siege to five villages inhabited by the Dogon community in Mondor commune, Mopti region, in July 2019, and that MINUSMA had intervened to prevent further human rights violations and humanitarian consequences by mobilizing the necessary assistance. Violent extremist groups had participated in the wanton destruction of objects that are regarded as essential to the survival of the civilian population, particularly in the central regions of the country. The already serious food insecurity situation was deteriorating. Between 15 and 18 November 2019, members of extremist groups burned the harvests in six villages in Mopti region and stole livestock. Grain and other food products were destroyed. 38. At about 9 p.m. on 5 July 2019, a group of armed men, allegedly members of a violent extremist group, cut the throat of a 60-year-old male civilian at his home in the town of Dialloubé, in Mopti region. The members of the group reportedly came after the victim 8 GE.20-00529