Islamic State-linked jihadists kill at least 40 civilians in Mali amid turf war

From The Guardian

An Islamic State-linked group has killed around 40 civilians caught up in a rivalry between warring jihadist groups in Mali’s conflict-plagued north.

There were “at least 40 civilian deaths in three different sites” during a week of bloodshed in the Tessit area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, a civilian official in the area told AFP.

The official said the death toll was provisional because information was patchy and coming in slowly from the remote and dangerous area.

“These civilians had been accused by one [jihadist] group of complicity with the other group,” the official said.

Two Tessit residents, based in the regional capital Gao and the national capital Bamako, confirmed the scale of the violence after speaking with witnesses who had fled the carnage.

A spokesman for a group of armed northern militias reported a similar death toll.