Gulf Times

30 villagers dead in Mali attacks

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Armed men have killed at least 30 villagers in Mali in simultaneo­us attacks on several villages in the conflict-riven centre of the country, local officials said yesterday.

The attacks took place on Wednesday in the Bankass region, but were not immediatel­y confirmed because of the difficulty in accessing informatio­n from the area.

Officials did not immediatel­y blame any group, but central Mali has become one of the flashpoint­s of the country’s conflict, with regular militant assaults and intercommu­nal fighting between ethnic groups.

Armed uniformed men travelling in pick-up trucks attacked four villages populated by Dogon ethnic groups, one local official said by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“From 3 to 9pm, nobody came to our rescue.

I deplore the inaction of the army.

It is always late and never confronts the bandits even if we tell them where they are,” said Youssouf Tiessogue, an elder from Gouari, one the villages attacked.

The attack left at least 30 dead, including women, children, the elderly while others were missing, local officials said.

A senior government official also speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the deaths of around 30 civilians, killed by gunmen in several villages.

Unrest in central Mali has killed nearly 600 civilians this year, the United Nations said last month.

Clashes between the ethnic Fulani and Dogon communitie­s have increased in recent months, with community-based militias — initially formed for defence — now launching attacks.

Mali’s war erupted in 2012 when Tuareg rebels supported by armed hardliners took over the desert north of the West African country.

The rebels were then outmanoeuv­red by their hardliner allies and the French military intervened to force them back.

The conflict has since swept into the centre of Mali and spilled into neighbouri­ng Burkina Faso and Niger, inflaming ethnic tensions.

More than 5,000 French troops, a regional G5 Sahel military co-operation deal and a UN peacekeepe­r mission in Mali have not been enough to contain the violence.

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