A group linked to the Islamic State-linked have killed no fewer than 40 civilians this week who were caught up in a rivalry between fighting jihadist groups in Mali’s conflict-plagued north, local sources have disclosed.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the latest bloodshed in the West African country, which has been struggling to counter a grinding Islamist insurgency since 2013, comes as France said it would withdraw its forces after disagreements with the ruling military junta.
‘There are at least 40 civilian deaths in three different sites’ in the Tessit area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, a civilian official in the area told reporters.
The official, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, said the death toll was provisional because the information was patchy and coming in slowly from the remote and dangerous area.
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‘These civilians had been accused by one (jihadist) group of complicity with the other group,‘ the official said.
Two Tessit residents, based in the regional capital Gao and national capital Bamako, confirmed to AFP the scale of the violence after speaking with witnesses who had fled the carnage.
A spokesman for a group of armed northern militias reported a similar death toll.
Africa Today News, New York Tessit is in the ‘three borders’ area, a hotspot of jihadist violence.
The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and the Sahel’s largest jihadist alliance, the al-Qaeda-aligned GSIM group, are particularly active in the area.
As well as attacking local and foreign troops, they have been fighting each other for territory since 2020.
Tessit, a rural area in the Gao region, has seen an outbreak of violence in recent weeks, with the hashtag #JeSuisTessit (I am Tessit) appearing on social media.
It has been cut off from the telephone network for several years, making communication difficult.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK