At least 26 villagers killed in latest violent attack in central Mali

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least 26 people were killed when an armed group attacked a village in Mali’s central region near the border with Burkina Faso, a government official said Monday, the latest violent attack in the conflict-hit region.

The attackers attacked villagers on Sunday evening as most of them were working in their fields in Dembo village, said Moulaye Guindo, the mayor of Bankass town, where Dembo is located.

Such attacks are becoming increasingly common in central Mali as the country’s military junta struggles to contain violence in the north of the country as well.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, but blame quickly fell on JNIM, an extremist group with links to al-Qaeda that frequently targets villagers in the region in similar ways. In July, for example, rebels attacked a wedding ceremony, killing at least 21 people.

Armed violence in central and northern Mali has been raging for more than a decade. Extremist rebels, once ousted from power in northern cities with the help of recently expelled French troops, have regrouped and launched attacks on remote villages and security forces.

A 2015 peace agreement with ethnic Tuareg rebels active in the north has also failed, exacerbating the security crisis.

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Baba Ahmed, The Associated Press