Central Mali under siege

BAMAKO, Mali — Mali faces unprecedented violence in its central region where extremists, armed groups and the military are committing abuses as fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group move in from the north, international rights groups said Wednesday.

More than 75,000 civilians have fled the intercommunal violence and extremist and military attacks in what has become the West African nation’s most dangerous region, the International Federation of Human Rights and the Malian Association of Human Rights said in a new report.

Since the beginning of the crisis in central Mali in 2015 more than 1,200 people have been killed, the majority of them ethnic Fulani, who face accusations of links to al-Qaida extremists and have been attacked by local militia groups.