BAMAKO — Suspected Islamist extremists
in Mali killed at least 30 civilians in an attack on a passenger vehicle in the
volatile central town of Mopti, officials said Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Mali's transitional government said in a
statement broadcast on state TV that 31 people were killed and 17 injured and
vowed to do everything necessary to "arrest and punish" the
perpetrators.
"The passengers were sprayed with
bullets and the vehicle was torched," during an attack by
"terrorists" near the town of Bandiagara on Friday, a local official
told AFP.
"The state has sent security forces to
the scene," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
An elected representative in Bandiagara
confirmed the death toll, saying the victims included women and children.
The attack has not been claimed by any of
the numerous armed groups active in the West African country.
Head of the transitional government,
strongman Colonel Assimi Goita, declared three days of national
mourning from Sunday during which flags will be flown at half-mast on all
government and public buildings.
Islamist extremist insurgency
The Bandiagara development association
condemned the "cowardly and criminal act" and called on the
authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Mali has been struggling to contain an
Islamist insurgency that first erupted in the north in 2012 and has since
claimed thousands of military and civilian lives.
Despite the presence of thousands of French
and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed central Mali and spread to neighboring
Burkina Faso and Niger.
Central Mali has become one of the most
violent hotspots of the Sahel-wide conflict, where ethnic killings and attacks
on government forces are frequent.
A military junta overthrew the government
last year after mass protests against the violence, but the new rulers have not
managed to stem the bloodshed.
The West African regional grouping ECOWAS
last month imposed new sanctions on Mali and called for it to honor a timetable
for a return to democracy.
The situation in the country has raised
concerns internationally, prompting a UN Security Council delegation to Mali in
October.
Swathes of Mali, a vast nation of 19 million
people, lie outside of government control because of the Islamist extremist
insurgency.
France, the former colonial power in the
Sahel, has about 5,100 troops deployed across the region, helping to support
countries where governments are weak and the armed forces poorly equipped.
The French military first intervened in 2013
to beat back the Islamist extremist insurgency in northern Mali.
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