Move FM Global News

MOPTI, Mali – A year after ethnic violence escalated in Mali, costing hundreds of lives in 2018, dozens of civilians living in the central Mopti region of the country were attacked and killed.

The attack on January 1 occurred in the Koulogon village in the central Mopti region, when civilians were heading to answer the first call to prayer of the New Year.

The Malian government said in a statement that a group of armed men dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, raided Koulogon village and killed 37 Fulani civilians.

Moulage Guindo, Mayor of the regional capital Bankass said that the attack targeted the Fulani part of Koulogon and most of the people killed were herders, while some of the victims were children.

Several people suffered injuries in the attack.

According to Guindo, the attack in Koulogon took place less than half a mile away from an area that is mostly inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group, that the Donzos are linked to.

Tabital Pulaaku, Head of the Fulani Association confirmed in a statement that those killed were from the Fulani ethnic group and included the village chief, Moussa Diallo.

Officials said that the attackers burned many homes in the village and that an official investigation into the attack had been launched. 

Allaye Yattara, a Fulani herder who said he had witnessed the killings, told AFP: “Our village chief Moussa Diallo was killed in the attack along with old women, (and) a girl, all members of his family.”

A legislator and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s son, Karim Keita condemned the “criminal act.”

He said, “Only the investigation will reveal the reasons for the killings.”

Tuesday’s attack appeared to be related to the escalating ethnic violence in the country that has created a dire security situation in the country. 

Since 2012, when Tuareg rebels and loosely allied Islamists took over the northern part of the country, Mali has witnessed increased turmoil. 

The region, which is still allegedly used as a base by jihadist groups with ties to Al Qaida and the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), has become a hotbed for violence between Fulani and rival communities. 

In 2013, French forces intervened in a bid to help Malian forces stave off a jihadist insurgency.

However, over the years, Islamists have managed to regain a foothold in the north and centre and are often blamed for tapping into ethnic rivalries to recruit new members.

The semi-nomadic Fulani ethnic group has previously faced accusations of being linked to Al Qaida.

Its rivalry with the Dogon hunters is often related to access of land and water and led to clashes that killed hundreds of people in 2018.

According to the United Nations, over 500 civilian deaths were recorded in the area last year.

Tuesday’s attack also came immediately after the Mali government started a disarmament campaign to seize weapons from rival groups – a move that was expected to have irked local groups in the area.

Several human rights groups have reported several hundred civilians killed in central Mali because of attacks by armed groups.