At Least 11 Civilians Killed In North-East Mali
By AFP
At least 11 Tuareg civilians have been killed near Menaka in Mali’s troubled northeast, a pro-government coalition of armed groups announced Saturday.
The attack at Agharangabo, was carried out on Thursday by unidentified assailants, said the group, called Plateforme des Mouvements du 14 juin 2014 d’Alger. A local elected official who asked not to be named confirmed the report to AFP.
Agharangabo and Menaka are part of a large swathe of the country where the government has little or no control, and which is prey to regular attacks from Islamist militants.
Agharangabo lies 65 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of Menaka.
Since 2012, the region has suffered attacks from jihadist groups as well as deadly clashes between the different communities living there. Rival armed groups have also fought there.
Plateform put out a list of the 11 people it said had been killed and said their livestock had also been stolen.
“These are summary executions of 11 civilians by unidentified armed men,” said the local official, who did not wish to be named for security reasons.
“It happened on Thursday in the course of three attacks on civilians in this zone,” he added.
