MALI

A teacher checks students’ chalk boards on the first day of the reopening of schools on 4 February 2013, in Gao, in the north of Mali. The majority of the school’s tables and benches were looted during fighting in northern Mali in 2012 and early © 2013 SIA KAMBOU/AFP/Getty Images

Mali Malians place a very high emphasis on education. However, since January 2012, schools and education buildings in northern and parts of central Mali have been pillaged, sacked, burned, and destroyed; they have been used as training camps and bases; and occupied by armed groups, paramilitary groups, and the MAF, resulting in the closure of most schools in Gao, Kidal, and Tombouctou. Although some schools began to re- open in early 2013, many had not and thousands of students were at risk of losing two school years. A total of 115 schools were looted, damaged, bombed, used for military purposes or contaminated with unexploded ordnance in Armed groups reportedly interfered in the conduct of classes, demanding that their interpretation of sharia law be taught. As of February 2013, 86% of pupils remaining in the North still lacked access to education. In 2012 Human Rights Watch identified 18 places where witnesses reported that new recruits including children were being trained, including military bases, Quranic schools, and private and public schools. A tradesman... described seeing about 20 children both studying the Quran and receiving weapons’ training. He and others who spoke to Human Rights Watch recognized some of the boys as Arab Islamist fighters. In Sevaré alone, hundreds of youths and children, many of them 14 or under, are living and training in run-down barracks or school-buildings. They spend hours each day learning how to use a gun, simulating hand-to-hand combat, and exercising. Numerous schools were used as training centres or bases by the armed groups, making them legitimate military targets. Several schools were targeted during the French-led military intervention, notably in Diabali, Douentza, and Konna.

Mali Continued In September 2012, government and pro-government Ganda Koi militia occupied 14 elementary schools in Mopti. These schools had a combined enrollment of 4,886 students. Humanitarian and education actors were successfully able to advocate with the MAF to withdraw from the schools. The presence of both MAF and paramilitary groups in schools together raises questions as to the links between the government and these groups. Konna C elementary school and Konna D middle school share a schoolyard. In early January 2013, that yard was occupied by the MAF preparing for combat. The administration closed the schools as a result of their presence, saying it was not possible to have classes with them there. Classes were suspended from 8 January – 4 February, during which time armed groups pillaged the schools. Additionally, a shell hit Konna C during the bombardments. In Ansongo in December 2012, MUJAO allegedly occupied both the high school and the education administration building... as they were better constructed than elementary schools and furnished with air conditioners. Both high schools in Gao were also reportedly occupied and pillaged to the point of resembling “animal pens.” In the case of two elementary schools in Diabali, Sini Djigui and Anda Ouéléhguem, members of MUJAO had reportedly used their yards to store vehicles. Both schools were damaged during bombardments. In Goundam, the MNLA sacked the schools and burned the education administration building. Later, when AD took control of the town, they pillaged further, even taking the beds from the nursery school.

Mali - Armed Group Acronyms AD - Ansar Dine AQIM - Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb MAF - Malian Armed Forces(Government troops) MNLA - National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (Mouvement national de libération de l’Azawad) MUJAO - The Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mouvement pour l’unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest)

Mali Resources GCPEA Report: Lessons in War: Military Use of Schools and Other Education Institutions During ConflictLessons in War: Military Use of Schools and Other Education Institutions During Conflict HRW Press Release: Mali: Islamist Armed Groups Spread Fear in NorthMali: Islamist Armed Groups Spread Fear in North HRW Press Release: Mali: War Crimes by Northern RebelsMali: War Crimes by Northern Rebels Article: MALI: Children take up gunsMALI: Children take up guns Watch List Report: Where Are They…? The Situation of Children in Armed Conflict in MaliWhere Are They…? The Situation of Children in Armed Conflict in Mali