Malians March For State Protection After Massacre

Dozens of Malians on Tuesday demonstrated in the central town of Bankass to demand protection from the state after suspected militants massacred more than 130 civilians in nearby neighbouring villages

Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jun, 2022 ) :Dozens of Malians on Tuesday demonstrated in the central town of Bankass to demand protection from the state after suspected militants massacred more than 130 civilians in nearby neighbouring villages.

The mass killing -- the latest in a series of attacks across the Sahel -- resulted in one of Mali's highest civilian death tolls.

Villagers continued to search for the missing Tuesday, raising fears of an even greater toll.

The government says fighters from the Fulani religious leader Amadou Koufa's armed group, the Macina Katiba, killed 132 civilians in Diallassagou and two surrounding villages, a few dozen kilometres (miles) from Bankass.

Junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita has declared three days of mourning and a government delegation was sent to the scene on Tuesday.

Political leaders expressed compassion with the victims' families, while rallying around the armed forces.

But a group of political parties named the "Cadre d'echange", or Exchange Framework, demanded Goita make an in-person visit and said the authorities had a responsibility to take "the necessary measures so that such tragedies are not replicated".

Residents of Bankass, the main town in the region, held a demonstration on Tuesday.

Photos sent by a Dogon community association show several dozen people gathered in the street.

"We have gathered despite the rain to call for security, and to condemn the crimes", Oumar Togo, a member of the Bankass youth association, told AFP by telephone.

"The government must ensure our security".