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A new wave of attacks by terrorists in central Mali has killed dozens of people, local and security sources said on Saturday.
Friday’s attacks were claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), who had already killed at least 30 people in attacks on villages on Wednesday. A local official said the latest attacks by the armed groups had raised the toll to more than 70 in recent days.
Another local official said the death toll is at 80. “Our hearts are bleeding,” one local youth leader said, accusing nearby army detachments of doing nothing to help, despite multiple calls.
A security source said that the situation in the region is “worrying”. “JNIM is targeting villages that refused to sign local agreements,” the source said.
The latest attacks come after JNIM and the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) carried out an unusual assault against the ruling junta in Mali last month. Since then, Mali’s security situation has become critical, with several areas in the north now controlled by armed groups.
