Mali massacre: jihadism or ethnic war?
Scores of Malians demonstrated June 21 in the town of Bankass, in central Mopti region, to demand state protection after more than 130 civilians were killed by presumed jihadist militants in three nearby villages over the past days. The massacres in Diallassagou, Dianweli and Deguessagou localities are said to have been carried out by the Katiba Macina, a militant group led by Fulani preacher Amadou Kouffa. The gunmen burned huts and stole cattle in addition to killing villagers. The Katiba Macina is apparently an offshoot of the Qaeda-aligned Group for Support of Islam & Muslims (JNIM). However, in Mopti region, traditionally known to the Fulani as Macina, the violence appears to have taken on an ethnic cast. In March 2019, more than 160 Fulani civilians were massacred at the village of Ogossagou. (Africa News, Africa News, TRT, AFP, El Pais)
Fulani were also targeted in a March 2022 massacre attributed to Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
The past year has seen mounting massacres across the Sahel nations.
ISIS in 'complex and coordinated' Mali attack
A "complex and coordinated" attack in Mali's restive central region left 42 soldiers dead on Aug. 7. The assault in the town of Tessit in the Gao region, including drones and artillery, was blamed on the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). (Al Jazeera)
ISIS targets Tuaregs in Mali
Jihadist armed groups have killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee their villages in coordinated attacks since March, according to Human Rights Watch. The insurgents, aligned with the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, have systematically attacked dozens of villages in the northeast regions of Ménaka and Gao. These attacks have largely targeted ethnic Dawsahak, a Tuareg ethnic group. (TNH)
Attack on Mali UN peacekeepers
A June 9 attack on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) resulted in the death of one and the injury of eight other peacekeepers. A security patrol in Ber town, Timbuktu region, was targeted in an attack that involved an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) followed by direct fire. (MINUSMA)