12 killed in fresh Mali violence

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. AFP PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • The jihadists were largely forced out by a French-backed military campaign, but the violence spread and much of the country is in a state of lawlessness.
  • In central Mali, a mosaic of ethnicities, more than 500 civilians have died since the start of the year, according to UN figures.

Eleven people were shot dead in restive central Mali on Monday by unidentified gunmen, while a blast killed one person and injured two, sources said.

The gun attack took place in the village of Telly, a few dozen kilometres (miles) from the town of Tenenkou, a local official said.

"They killed 11 civilians. Some of them came by motor bike," the source said.
A Malian security source confirmed the attack in Telly and the death toll, and said "criminals" were to blame.

"There are also people who have been reported missing. We don't know how many," the security source said.
The defence ministry did not immediately return a request for information.

In the central-eastern town of Menaka, meanwhile, a deputy mayor said one woman was killed and two others were seriously injured by a landmine on the road between Chamane and Tin Fadimata.

They were travelling by donkey when one of the animals stepped on the bomb, an improvised device "set by terrorists," the official said.

"They (the injured) have been taken to the Tin Fadimata Medical Centre," the source said.
Central Mali is in the grip of two-fold violence -- by jihadists and by rival ethnic groups, notably Fulani herders and Dogon farmers fighting over access to land.

The upheaval results from a revolt by Touareg rebels in northern Mali in 2012 that al-Qaeda-linked jihadists exploited to seize key cities in the region.

The jihadists were largely forced out by a French-backed military campaign, but the violence spread and much of the country is in a state of lawlessness.

In central Mali, a mosaic of ethnicities, more than 500 civilians have died since the start of the year, according to UN figures.