BAMAKO, Oct 20: More than 40 civilians have been killed in weekend attacks by armed men on camps in Mali's northeastern Menaka region, security and community sources told AFP on Monday.
The assailants reportedly rode in on motorcycles, targeting camps mainly housing members of the Daoussahak community, whose executive bureau blamed the killings on the Islamic State group.
The Daoussahak community is where the armed Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) originated, according to the sources. The MSA is aligned with the ruling government in Bamako.
The targeted camps lie about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the town of Menaka, in or around the village of Tinabow and the Tagadayat area.
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A security source based in Gao told AFP the massacre occurred "in retaliation for military operations carried out in the area recently and for attacks by the MSA."
"According to the information we have received, there were about 40 deaths, mostly men," the source said.
Mali has been plagued since 2012 by a security crisis pitting the army and its Russian allies against jihadist fighters, Tuareg separatist groups and criminal gangs. Economic instability has fuelled the crisis.
The junta that has ruled Mali since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 has turned to Russia for support, enlisting the services of paramilitaries from the Wagner Group, which became the Africa Corps in 2025.
In Sunday's killings, "armed men stormed several camps 50 kilometers from the town of Menaka," another security source told AFP on Monday.
"They fired at anything that moved. Fifty civilians were killed, including young people and the elderly," the source said, adding that people fleeing the violence were arriving in Menaka on Monday.
A local source in Tinabow interviewed by AFP said that on Sunday evening, "several dozen motorcycles suddenly arrived and (the attackers) began shooting and setting homes on fire."
"They didn't speak to anyone. They just started killing. I saw dozens of bodies," the source added.
A local elected official also spoke of the high death toll, telling AFP of "more than 50 dead, including women and the elderly," and noting the population displacement to Menaka.
The Daoussahak community executive bureau said that "48 civilians were killed" Sunday in Tagadayat. In a statement it condemned the "massacre" and appealed for emergency humanitarian aid for the displaced.
For its part, the Malian army stated it had conducted operations in the same area on Saturday, about 65 kilometers southwest of Menaka, and struck "a major base housing several terrorist elements and military equipment."