Mali’s military government says it is investigating allegations that soldiers “coldly executed” at least 24 civilians in the north of the country on Monday.

That claim was made by a separatist Tuareg rebel alliance, called Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which is battling the Malian government in the same region.

The FLA accuse Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries of intercepting two passenger vehicles travelling from Algeria to the Malian city of Gao and killing the civilians on board, including women and children.

In a statement, army chief Gen Oumar Diarra said the allegations “relayed by terrorist networks, allies and sponsors” follow other “unfounded” claims against state forces.

For many years, the Malian government has been struggling against both Tuareg rebels seeking a breakaway state in the north and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The military which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021 hired Russian mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner to help improve security in the country.

Both government forces and the Russians have often been accused by rights groups of committing gross human rights abuses against civilians, which they deny.

Last month, Mali was one of three countries under military rule to leave the West African regional bloc Ecowas, after refusing its demands to restore civilian rule.

The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger dealt a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa’s most important regional group.

Mali’s military leaders also ended ties with former colonial power France, whose troops left the country in 2022 after more than a decade fighting Islamist insurgents.

The following year, all 12,000 UN peacekeepers left Mali on the junta’s instructions.