This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
Communal violence in central Mali has claimed another devastating toll, with at least 23 people dead and 300 missing after an attack on a village of Fulani herders on Sunday, according to local mayor Harouna Sankare.
Two other Fulani communities were targeted on Sunday evening, amid a string of deadly assaults between herders and ethnic Dogon farmers who have long fought over land and resources.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's government has vowed to disarm the militias but has struggled to do so, as tit-for-tat violence between the rival communities has escalated this year.
On March 1, suspected Dogon militiamen killed more than 150 Fulani in central Mali, one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the country's recent history.
Instability in the region is further fueled by the presence of jihadist militants, who use northern and central Mali as launchpads to stage attacks across the Sahel.
Elsewhere in central Mali, 12 civilians including a baby were killed on Sunday when the vehicle they were traveling in hit a landmine, local mayor Issiaka Ganame said.
