Diabaly is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Niono in the

Ségou Region Ségou Region (Bambara language, Bambara: ߛߋߓߎ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Segu Dineja) is an administrative region in Mali, situated in the centre of the country with an area of , around 5% of Mali. The region is bordered by Sikasso Region on the sout ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. The commune has an area of approximately and includes 28 villages as well as the town.. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 35,266. The town lies north of

Niono Niono is a town and commune located in the Ségou Region of Mali. The commune has an area of approximately 491 square kilometers and includes the town and 20 of the surrounding villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 91,554. The town i ...

on the west side of the Fala de Molodo channel that forms part of the

Office du Niger The Office du Niger is a semi-autonomous government agency in Mali that administers a large irrigation scheme in the Ségou Region of the country. Water from the Niger River is diverted into a system of canals at the Markala dam downstream of Sé ...

irrigation scheme. The fields around the town are irrigated but much of the commune lies to the east of the Fala de Molodo in an area that lacks irrigation. On 8 September 2012, during the

Northern Mali conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Mali War , width = 35% , partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror , image = MaliWar.svg , image_size = 300 , caption ...

, a group of Malian army soldiers arrested 17 Islamic preachers coming from Mauritania at a checkpoint near the village. The 17 men were suspected to be Islamist militants and 16 of them were executed. Opposition military forces occupied Diabaly for a week starting from 14 January 2013.

Northern Mali conflict

Events related to the

occurred in Diabaly in September 2012 and January 2013.

September 2012 massacre

On the evening of 8 September 2012, 17 unarmed Dawa Tablighi preachers from

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

arrived in Dogofry, north of Diabaly, in a Toyota minibus, on their way to a religious conference in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

. A group of Malian army soldiers arrested the preachers and executed all but one of them.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

attributed responsibility for the executions to "rank-and-file soldiers hocarried out the massacre of their own accord, ignoring not only the normal rules of engagement but also their own command structure." The

government of Mali Until the military coup of March 22, 2012 and a second military coup in December 2012 the politics of Mali took place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Mali is head of state with ...

published an announcement "expressing deep condolences, but stopping short of taking responsibility for the deaths." Prior to its formal investigation in Mali, the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

stated that, "There is reasonable basis to believe that the

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

of murder under Article 8(2)(c)(i) was committed by alian armyforces."

January 2013 rebel occupation

On 14 January 2013, five opposition force vehicles entered Diabaly after being attacked by the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

. The opposition groups fought with Mali army soldiers for about 10 hours and settled within of a Mali army base in Diabaly. Diabaly returned to Mali governmental control when Malian and French forces entered it a week later, on 21 January.

References

External links

*. {{Communes of the Ségou Region Communes of Ségou Region