DAKAR, Senegal — Editor's Note: This story contains graphic images and descriptions of atrocities.
The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal brief arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner Group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media, including ones alluding to cannibalism. The brief was seen exclusively by The Associated Press.
Violence in the Sahel, an arid belt of land south of the Sahara Desert, has reached record levels as military governments battle extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year, it became the deadliest place on earth for extremism, with half of the world's nearly 8,000 victims killed across the territory, according to yearly data compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
While the United States and other Western powers withdraw from the region, Russia has taken advantage, expanding military cooperation with several African nations via Wagner, the private security company closely linked to Russia's intelligence and military.
Observers say the new approach has led to the kind of atrocities and dehumanization not seen in the region for decades. Social media offers a window into the alleged horrors that often occur in remote areas with little or no oversight from governments or outside observers.
Experts say the images, while difficult to verify, could serve as evidence of war crimes. The confidential brief to the ICC goes further, arguing that the act of circulating the images on social media could constitute a war crime, too. It is the first such argument made to the international court.
Here are some takeaways from AP's report on the issue.
Videos that humiliate and dehumanize