Thirty-one people were killed in the jihadist attack

The government said on Saturday that 31 people had been killed and 17 wounded in an attack by suspected jihadists on a transport vehicle near Pandiyagara in the Moti area of ​​central Mali on Friday.

In a statement broadcast on public television, the Malian government assures us that “all measures will be taken to arrest and punish the perpetrators of this heinous and heinous act.”

Earlier, local officials told the AFP that at least 30 people had been killed in the attack.

“At least 30 Mali civilians were killed by terrorists near Pandiyagara on Friday. They were in a public transport vehicle. The vehicle caught fire in a traffic jam. The government sent security forces there.” Local officials in Mopti told AFP anonymously. .

An official selected from the Pandiyagara area complained that there were “children and women” among the victims and that they were “missing” without giving further details. According to him, the terrorists were 30 people, some of them on motorcycles.

The leader of the change, Colonel Azimi Koida, declared the first three days of national mourning on Sunday. To mark the occasion, flags will be flown at half-mast in all buildings and public buildings.

Many of the militant groups that plague the country have not claimed responsibility for the attack.

– “Cowardly Attack” –

The Pandiyagara Development Association (ADB) condemns the “cowardly and criminal attack” and calls on the authorities to take all necessary measures to protect the people and their property.

In addition to jihadi violence, the Mopti area, the site of Friday’s attack, has been the scene of clashes between communities. Due to issues related to the fields and transhumans, tensions between the seated tokens and mainly the nomadic Fulani are recurring there.

Mali has been responsible for the activities of groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State since 2012, as well as all forms of violence perpetrated by self-proclaimed self-proclaimed militants and bandits. Regular forces are accused of abuse.

The violence began in the north in 2012 and then spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Despite the deployment of UN, French and African forces, they killed thousands of civilians and soldiers and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The military takeover of power in Bamako following the overthrow of the regime in 2020 has not stopped the cycle of violence.