Just In : 40 killed in attack on central Mali village
A Malian soldier walks past a army building that was taken by the jihadists before being destroyed during aerial bombing in Diabaly on January 21.
Mali’s military has battled to contain jihadist groups that have been active for over a decade in central and northern Mali. ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images
Reuters
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Unidentified armed men have killed around 40 people in an attack on a village in insurgent-plagued central Mali, local officials said on Tuesday.
The attack took place on Monday in the village of Djiguibombo in Mopti region – one of several areas in Mali’s north and centre where jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have been active for over a decade.
“It was a very serious attack, armed men surrounded the village and shot at people,” said Bankass Mayor Moulaye Guindo by phone.
He was not able to share a death toll, but two local officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said around 40 people were killed.
Mali’s Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud is seen prior to the ruling of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the case of this former jihadist police chief accused of “unimaginable crimes” during an alleged reign of terror and sexual slavery in the fabled Malian city of Timbuktu. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, 46, is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture, rape and sexual slavery, and destroying religious and historic buildings.
“It was carnage, they surrounded the village where there was a wedding … There was panic, some people managed to flee, but many were killed, most of them men,” said one of the officials.
They did not identify the attackers and no group has yet claimed responsibility.
It was not possible to reach the army spokesperson for comment.
Violence has spiraled in West Africa’s central Sahel region since the insurgencies took root in Mali and spread into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, killing thousands of people and displacing millions more.
The insecurity has helped spur two coups in Mali, one in Burkina Faso, and one in Niger since 2020.
