The office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke of 134 dead and dozens injured. According to military sources, unknown gunmen stormed the village of Ogossagou Peulh in the Mopti region on Saturday morning. Among the dead were pregnant women, small children and seniors. „The death toll is cruel, everyone is civilian, there are many injured and a number of houses have been lit,“ said government spokesman Amadou Koita.
There were, therefore, hundreds of cases of arson. The government sent troops to secure the area. Guterres was shocked by the violence. He called on the Malian authorities to redouble their efforts „to bring peace and stability back to central Mali“. Who is behind the attack was initially unclear.
Federal Foreign Office: „Offenders must be held accountable“
The Federal Foreign Office condemned the massacre on Sunday in a statement. „The spiral of violence in central Mali must be interrupted and the perpetrators brought to justice,“ it said. In addition it is important that Mali takes over the security responsibility in the region. „Germany stands ready to support this,“ said the Foreign Office.
After Islamist and other insurgents temporarily controlled northern Mali in 2012, the security situation in the West African country has continued to deteriorate. In addition to civilians, armed groups repeatedly attack domestic and international armed forces. A UN peacekeeping mission has been operating in Mali since 2013.
Especially the north of Mali is a retreat for many groups of Islamist extremists. Again and again they commit attacks on the Malian armed forces or the UN peacekeeping mission, in which the Bundeswehr also participates with about 1,000 soldiers. The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) accused Mali’s government of serious failures. The violence between the two peoples escalated for months, „but the government of Mali has ignored the alarm calls from human rights organizations and the United Nations,“ said GfbV director Ulrich Delius. The mission of the German Armed Forces to stabilize the country was not to be fulfilled.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited the region at the end of February and visited a military camp in Mali.
