Rights group says Russia-linked airstrike in Mali killed 8 civilians last month

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Human Rights Watch said Friday that Russian government-controlled Africa Corps aircraft killed eight civilians, including three children, in an airstrike on a village in central Mali last month.The rights group said an attack aircraft identified as a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 dropped two munitions on Kyrnia village in the Mopti region on June 15. One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife and three children. The second hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men. No fighters from the Islamic militant group JNIM, which has controlled the village for six years, were reported among the casualties.The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the claims by Human Rights Watch.Mali has been plagued for over a decade by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, including JNIM, as well as a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north.Violence escalated in recent months after an alliance of JNIM and Tuareg separatists car