Militants kill at least 31 in central Mali, say local authorities
Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday when they fired upon a bus ferrying people to a local market, local authorities said - the latest deadly attack in a region racked by violent insurgency.
- Country:
- Mali
Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday when they fired upon a bus ferrying people to a local market, local authorities said - the latest deadly attack in a region racked by violent insurgency. The bus was attacked by unidentified gunmen as it traveled its twice-weekly route from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, said Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass.
"Armed men ... shot at the vehicle, slashed the tires, and shot at the people," Guindo said. He and another local official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said at least 31 were confirmed dead with many more wounded or missing.
The villages sit in the heart of the Mopti region, an epicentre of violence in Mali fuelled by insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. An internal security memo, shared by a source, said first responders to the scene of the latest attack discovered 25 burned bodies in the truck.
Images circulated on social media showed the smouldering frame of a passenger bus filled with bodies, still slumped over in their seats. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the images. Jihadist attacks have surged across Africa's Sahel region, killing thousands and displacing millions across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Niger
- Africa
- Islamic State
- al Qaeda
- Bandiagara
- Mali
- Sahel
- Jihadist
- Mopti
ALSO READ
IFAD, Somalia sign new agreement to fund Rural Livelihood Resilience Programme
Vistara expects operations to normalise by May; stretched pilot roster caused flight disruptions: CEO Vinod Kannan tells PTI in interview.
Tvesa Malik maintains momentum, lies T-7th in South Africa
EC issues notice to CM Jagan for his "malicious" comments against TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu
Tvesa Malik T-16 in South Africa, Ridhima is T-30