More than 40 civilians have been killed in weekend attacks by armed men on camps in Mali’s northeastern Menaka region, security and community sources told AFP on Monday.
The Daoussahak community is where the armed Movement for the Salvation of Azawad originated, according to the sources. A local elected official also spoke of the high death toll, telling AFP of “more than 50 dead, including women and the elderly,” and noting the population displacement to Menaka. The Daoussahak community executive bureau said that “48 civilians were killed” Sunday in Tagadayat. In a statement it condemned the “massacre” and appealed for emergency humanitarian aid for the displaced. For its part, the Malian army stated it had conducted operations in the same area on Saturday, about 65 kilometers southwest of Menaka, and struck “a major base housing several terrorist elements and military equipment.”
The assailants reportedly rode in on motorcycles, targeting camps mainly housing members of the Daoussahak community, whose executive bureau blamed the killings on the Islamic State group. The MSA is aligned with the ruling government in Bamako. A local source in Tinabow interviewed by AFP said that on Sunday evening, “several dozen motorcycles suddenly arrived and began shooting and setting homes on fire.
