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.
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A donkey stands in the makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, on the border with Mali, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A man, whose shop was destroyed when Africa Corps burned his village in the Mopti region of Mali, poses on his motorcycle in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Cooking pots are hung from a wooden post in the makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, on the border with Mali, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A woman from Mali carries her belongings in a makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Afay, a Malian refugee, shows pictures of her burned village after Africa Corps razed the marketplace to the ground, from Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Bakary Bah sits for a portrait in the Mbera Camp, Mauritania, Nov. 4, 2025, after fleeing Mali in 2023, when multiple people, including his brother, where killed in his village. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Herders move their livestock through Mbera Refugee Camp, Mauritania, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
People who fled violence in Mali stand in front of the Bassikounou hospital in the Hodh El Chargui Region, where they found refuge in Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A young Malian woman is treated for her dangerously high fever and infection by doctors at the Douankara health clinic in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
The mother of a young Malian woman, treated for her dangerously high fever and infection, cries at the Douankara health clinic in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A mother holds the hand of her daughter, which has not unclenched in the eight months since fleeing mercenaries in Mali and finding refuge in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A Fulani woman who fled violence in Mali and found refuge in Fassala, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, sits in the camp, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Nurse Mohamed Ag Tidaba holds a malnourished baby from Mali at the health clinic in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Fatma holds a photo of her daughter, who died when they fled their village, in Mali in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania where they found refuge, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Donkeys walk past a tent occupied by two women who were attacked and assaulted by Africa Corps in Mali in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Moyme, who fled Mali in fear of the Malian Army and its Russian allies, poses for a portrait in the Mbera camp, Mauritania, where she found refuge, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
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.”
This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
A donkey stands in the makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, on the border with Mali, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A man, whose shop was destroyed when Africa Corps burned his village in the Mopti region of Mali, poses on his motorcycle in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Cooking pots are hung from a wooden post in the makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, on the border with Mali, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A woman from Mali carries her belongings in a makeshift refugee camp near Douankara, in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Afay, a Malian refugee, shows pictures of her burned village after Africa Corps razed the marketplace to the ground, from Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Bakary Bah sits for a portrait in the Mbera Camp, Mauritania, Nov. 4, 2025, after fleeing Mali in 2023, when multiple people, including his brother, where killed in his village. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Herders move their livestock through Mbera Refugee Camp, Mauritania, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
People who fled violence in Mali stand in front of the Bassikounou hospital in the Hodh El Chargui Region, where they found refuge in Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A young Malian woman is treated for her dangerously high fever and infection by doctors at the Douankara health clinic in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
The mother of a young Malian woman, treated for her dangerously high fever and infection, cries at the Douankara health clinic in the Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A mother holds the hand of her daughter, which has not unclenched in the eight months since fleeing mercenaries in Mali and finding refuge in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
A Fulani woman who fled violence in Mali and found refuge in Fassala, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, sits in the camp, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Nurse Mohamed Ag Tidaba holds a malnourished baby from Mali at the health clinic in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Fatma holds a photo of her daughter, who died when they fled their village, in Mali in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania where they found refuge, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Donkeys walk past a tent occupied by two women who were attacked and assaulted by Africa Corps in Mali in Douankara, Hodh El Chargui Region, Mauritania, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
Moyme, who fled Mali in fear of the Malian Army and its Russian allies, poses for a portrait in the Mbera camp, Mauritania, where she found refuge, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly)
