An attack attributed to jihadists in central Mali killed over 20 civilians on Monday, according to two local officials.
This incident is the latest in the violence-stricken Sahel region.
Mali has faced over a decade of conflict involving jihadists and armed groups, with the country’s central region becoming a major hotspot of violence since 2015.
“At least 21 civilians have been killed” in the village of Djiguibombo, several dozen kilometres (miles) from the town of Bandiagara, an official from the provincial authority said on Wednesday.
He attributed the attack to jihadists.
Another provincial authority official and a local youth representative put the death toll at about 20.
All sources spoke anonymously for security reasons or due to their positions. Since the junta’s rise to power in 2020, such incidents are rarely made public.
An unspecified number of people are missing. According to a youth representative, the attack started before nightfall and “lasted around three hours.”
“Twenty people have been killed. More than half are young people. Some victims had their throats cut,” the source added.
Others were shot dead, the main organisation representing the local Dogon ethnic group said in a statement.
The attackers looted houses, set fire to the health centre and motorbikes, and took away livestock and supplies, the organisation, Ginna Dogon, said.
The attack is “the latest tragedy in a dark series that the Dogon country has been going through for several years, with daily attacks on villages, farmers in the fields, killings and kidnappings”, it added.
“Many inhabitants fled towards Bandiagara. Those who stayed were not even able to bury the dead properly,” the youth representative said.
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