Over 16 people have been killed in ethnic clashes in the central part of Mali.
The government says those killed were Fulani herdsmen. The clashes on Saturday took place in a village of Koumaga in the Mopti region.
A security official told Reuters that “I confirm there were clashes between people from the same village (Koumaga), in the circle of Djenné (near Mopti).”
Casualty figures
A senior security official is also quoted as saying that “The army intervened and counted 16 dead for the moment.”
A Fulani herders group confirmed the attack on Sunday. It said it counted close to 50 people who have died from the attack.
Why the clashes
The clashes are as a result of ongoing fighting between two groups over land, grazing grounds and water rights.
An official of a Fulani association, Abdoul Aziz Diallo gave an account of the attack saying “Shepherds, very young children with their animals in the bush, people returning … to cultivate their fields, were cowardly murdered”.
Malians will be heading to the polls next month with increased insecurity in parts of the country.
Last week some soldiers were implicated in major killings after the discovery of some mass graves in the centre of the country.
The graves were found after a military crackdown on suspected jihadists and allied ethnic militia.
Source: Africafeeds.com
