DAKAR, Senegal >> The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal report 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, according to the brief 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.

Turning from Western allies, the governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have instead embraced Russia and its mercenary fighters as partners.

— The Associated Press