Amnesty International on Sept. 29 condemned the Malian armed forces and its partners from the Russian private military company Wagner Group for perpetration of war crimes, including the murder and torture of civilians.

The Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sept. 23 found Mahamat Said Abdel Kani guilty of crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013.

Abdel Kani, a former commander of the Séléka militia coalition, was accused of orchestrating widespread attacks against civilians during the conflict in the country—and particularly abuse of detainees at the Office Central de Répression du Banditisme (OCRB), a detention center in the capital, Bangui. He faced charges of crimes against humanity including imprisonment, torture, prosecution, and other inhumane treatment directed at individuals perceived as supporters of former President François Bozizé, as well as the war crimes of torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.

Remnants of the Russian mercenary group Wagner apparently not integrated into Moscow's new Africa Corps have effectively gone rogue in the Central African republic, financing their operations through narco-trafficking. According to a Wall Street Journal Report of July 11, the mercenaries are running an opioid empire, supplying tramadol to the national army, local militias, their own forces, and workers in gold mines the group operates. A painkiller in normal doses, tramadol acts as a stimulant in higher doses that can reduce fear, exhaustion and hunger in users. Proceeds from tramadol distribution, including exports, have helped the Wagner remnants in CAR maintain independence from Moscow. The rogue remnant force is said to be led by Pavel Prigozhin, son of the late Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. (TNH, United24)

The UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), Aristide Nononsi, expressed concern June 1 about the persistent violence in the country, and its impacts on rights and humanitarian needs.

Amnesty International on Nov. 20 denounced authorities in Chad for their failure to protect victims of armed clashes between herders and farmers. The group documented seven instances of herder-farmer violence  in four provinces between 2022 and 2024, which resulted in 98 people dead, at least 100 injured, and 600 left without homes or sources of income.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on July 24 convicted two Anti-Balaka militia leaders, Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between 2013 and 2014. Yekatom was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Ngaissona received a 12-year sentence.

The ICC found that Yekatom and Ngaissona led a campaign of violence targeting Muslim civilians in retaliation for months of looting and violence carried out by the Muslim-led Séléka rebel coalition, which had seized power in 2013. The convictions include charges of murder, intentionally attacking civilian populations, forcible transfer, torture and other inhumane acts, and persecution.

Amnesty International on June 20 welcomed the conviction by the Central African Republic's Special Criminal Court (SCC) of six former combatants for war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling the decision "a breakthrough in the fight against impunity in the country." However, Amnesty said that the trial in the Ndélé 2 case was "tarnished" by the fact that four out of six defendants were convicted in absentia.

A UN report released on March 5 found that armed groups operating in the Haut Oubangui region of the Central African Republic (CAR) have been carrying out attacks against Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees, resulting in grave human rights violations. The report, prepared jointly by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), mainly attributes these attacks to Wagner Ti Azande (WTA), a militia affiliated with the national army.