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Gunmen kill more than 40 Tuaregs in ongoing Mali violence

Ersin Çelik
14:47 - 13/12/2018 Thursday
Update: 14:52 - 13/12/2018 Thursday
REUTERS
File photo
File photo

Gunmen on motorbikes have killed more than 40 Tuareg civilians this week in north Mali, where clashes over land and scarce water are common, an official said on Thursday.

The violence compounds an already dire security situation in the desert region used by jihadist groups to launch attacks in Mali and across West Africa.

The identity of the assailants was unknown, but disputes between the nomadic Tuareg and herder Fulani ethnic groups have killed several hundred and displaced thousands this year.

Menaka town mayor Nanout Kotia told Reuters 43 Tuareg died in a village 20 km (12 miles) away over the past two days.

"Armed men riding motorbikes attacked several nomadic campsites in Tinabaw. They shot indiscriminately at the population," Kotia told Reuters, saying security forces had been sent to the area.

Mali's main Tuareg separatist group, the Coordination of Azawad Movements, said 47 Tuareg civilians were killed in the Tinabaw area. Nobody has claimed responsibility.

Armed men killed 15 Fulani civilians in Mali's central Mopti region earlier this month.

#Gunmen
#Tuaregs
#Mali
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