Takeaways from AP's investigation into Russia's Africa Corps in Mali

DAKAR. Senegal (AP) — Dozens of people who have fled Mali tell The Associated Press that a new Russian military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group this year is carrying out abuses, including rapes and beheadings, as it teams up with Mali’s military to hunt down extremists.

The refugees said the Africa Corps, which reports to Russia's Defense Ministry, is using the same tactics as Wagner. Their accounts, collected during rare access to the Mauritanian border, have not been reported by international media until now.