Mali : Jihadists entered a village and killed 40 civilians

More than forty civilians were killed Sunday in northern Mali in attacks blamed on jihadists against three neighboring localities and close to the border with Niger, said a military official and local elected officials.

“More than forty civilians were killed on Sunday by terrorists in the villages of Karou, Ouatagouna, and Daoutegeft. The terrorists entered the villages and massacred everyone,” said a security official.

All sources interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The separatist and now jihadist insurgencies led by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh organization, as well as intercommunal violence and abuses of all kinds, including by the security forces, have left thousands dead civilians and soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons.

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From northern Mali, the violence spread to the center of the country, then to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.