The attack was directed against a village of the Fulbe ethnic group, said the parliamentarian Karim Keïta, the son of head of state Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the AFP news agency.
According to information from Malian security circles and an eyewitness, the attack was perpetrated by hunters of the Dogon ethnic group. These had attacked the village in the region of Mopti at dawn. Deputy Keïta spoke of a „criminal act“. In the attack, villagers were injured, he had visited in the hospital of Mopti.
Since 2012, more and more Islamist groups have come to West African Mali, when they took control of the north of the country. The former colonial power France intervened militarily in 2013 and pushed the Islamikerurück back.
In the evening, the government in Bamako issued a statement confirming the attack. Several people were injured and many houses burned down, it said. Those responsible for the crime would be held accountable.
Security situation continues to be unstable
In recent years, the ethnic conflicts between the fulbis practicing livestock and the Dogon and the Bambara, who practice agriculture, have also intensified. This is associated with the appearance of the jihadist group of the preacher Amadou Koufa in the region. Amadou Koufa had been killed at the end of November on a deployment of the French and Malian army.
Although there are thousands of international soldiers on the ground, the situation in Mali continues to be unstable. The German Armed Forces are also deployed in the country. Among other things, they participate in the Uno Mission Minusma in the north of the country. During the visit of Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) in November, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Gao.
