PHOTO ESSAY: Refugees flee Mali as region is the world's deadliest for extremism

DOUANKARA, Mauritania (AP) — A makeshift village in the Mauritanian desert shelters thousands of refugees who have fled Mali in recent weeks as fighting intensifies against militants linked to al-Qaida.

Strips of fabric tied between sticks serve as homes. Tree branches double as storage. Many people fled without their livestock, the source of their livelihoods. There is little protection from the Sahel’s punishing heat and wind. Still, refugees say it is safer than Mali.

The Associated Press obtained rare access to the border area, where refugees said they were caught between combatants in what has become the world’s deadliest region for extremist violence, according to the Global Terrorism Index.

Some refugees described alleged abuses by the newest actor in the conflict, a Russian military unit named Africa Corps that replaced the Wagner mercenary group six months ago. They said they witnessed beheadings, burnings and other abuses by the unit that is under Moscow’s direct command.

The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned to Russia for counterterrorism support after pushing away traditional allies including the United States and France.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to AP questions.

But the danger isn't just from Africa Corps. Refugees, aid workers and analysts say Mali's army and militants also commit abuses against civilians. The world sees little of this as access to the country becomes more difficult for journalists, watchdogs and others.

In a clinic near the border, the family of a 14-year-old girl described her rape by the “white men” in an attack that left her so near death and traumatized that she remembers nothing of it. Like others, they spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

A woman in one tent held a photo of her late daughter. Armed men had stormed their village, killing men, looting homes and shooting at those trying to flee. At the sound of gunshots, the 18-year-old daughter had a seizure.

What happened next, the woman said, “stays between God and me.”

When the attackers withdrew, she found her son shot dead. Her daughter died on the journey to Mauritania. The photo is all that remains. ___

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.