A jihadist attack on a village in central Mali has killed 13 civilians, local officials told AFP on Friday.

A local politician said “terrorists” had killed at least 13 civilians and burned homes in the village of Kani-Bonzon on Thursday, adding that the death toll could be as high as 20.

Jihadists “killed more than 13 civilians”, torched buildings and took away three people, according to another local politician speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“We ask the government and MINUSMA to come and help us,” he said, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission that has supported the West African nation in the long-running fight against jihadist rebels.

A local government official said the attackers had also stolen cattle. People came out to protest in the nearby town of Bandiagara on Friday to demand more security, he added.

Mali has been battling a security and political crisis since jihadist and separatist insurgencies broke out in the north of the country in 2012.

Jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have escalated their operations into central Mali and neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.

Thousands of civilians, police and troops have been killed, across the region, and more than two million have been forced to flee their homes.

In northern Burkina Faso, at least 70 soldiers and around a dozen civilian auxiliaries have been killed in less than a week in attacks blamed on jihadists.

Central Mali has been one of the hotspots for jihadist violence in the Sahel region since 2015 and the arrival of the Katiba Macina group, which has ties to Al-Qaeda.

Three Senegalese UN peacekeepers were killed there earlier this week by an improvised explosive device, a weapon often used by the rebels.

Fierce fighting

The emergence of Katiba Macina created or exacerbated tensions between communities over access to resources, with violence breaking out along ethnic lines.

So-called self-defence groups and banditry have also plagued central Mali, adding to the instability caused by the insurgents.

The military junta that has ruled Mali since a 2020 coup claims it is pushing back the jihadists.

But a UN report published in January said armed groups in the centre of the country were continuing to exploit tensions between communities, extend their influence and gain new recruits.

The junta launched a major operation in the centre in late 2021 as it started to loosen ties with France — its historically and the former colonial power — and drew closer to Russia.

Russian personnel, which Bamako describes as military instructors, have participated in the offensive.

But Western powers including France and the United States say they are mercenaries from the private Russian military company Wagner, accused of rights abuses in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.

The UN report makes several references to “foreign security forces” committing abuses in central Mali.

In northeastern Mali, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) group has for months been engaged in fierce fighting with other armed groups and rivals affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Civilians have frequently been caught up in the violence in the vast and arid region. (AFP via Channels)

•PHOTO: The Malian flag is hoisted during the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base from the French to the Malian army in Timbuktu, on December 14, 2021. FLORENT VERGNES / AFP

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