Dogon villages often follow a traditional way of life

Nearly 100 people have been killed in an attack in a village in central Mali inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group, officials say.

The attack happened in Sobame Da, near Sanga town in the Mopti region.

The search for bodies is ongoing, but officials say 95 people have been found dead, with many of the bodies burned.

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some ethnically driven, some carried out by jihadist groups.

Clashes between Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders are frequent.

Mali's government said "suspected terrorists" had attacked the village at around 03:00 local time. At least 19 people were still missing, it said.

But the mayor of nearby Bankass, Moulaye Guindo, told Reuters news agency that Fulanis from that district had attacked Sobane-Kou after nightfall.

"About 50 heavily armed men arrived on motorbikes and pickups," a survivor who called himself Amadou Togo told the AFP agency. "They first surrounded the village and then attacked – anyone who tried to escape was killed."

"No-one was spared – women, children, elderly people," he added.

No group has officially said it was responsible for the attack.

"Right now we have 95 dead civilians. The bodies are burned, we are continuing to look for others," a local official told AFP.

What is the Dogon-Fulani conflict?

The Dogon people have lived in central Mali for centuries, and live a largely traditional way of life as settled farmers.

Many Fulani, on the other hand, are semi-nomadic herders who move across large distances in West Africa.

Friction between farmers and the roaming herders over resources is long-standing – but clashes between them have increased since a militant Islamist uprising in northern Mali in 2012.

Both sides accuse the other of carrying out attacks amid the unrest.

The Fulani, a largely Muslim ethnic group, have been accused of having links with the Islamist uprising. But for their part, the Fulani accuse a Dogon self-defence association, Dan Na Ambassagou, of attacks on them.

The attack on Sobame Da has killed about a third of its inhabitants.

In the same region in March, more than 130 Fulani villagers were killed by armed men wearing traditional Dogon hunters' clothing.

In March, more than 130 people were killed in an attack on the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara

After the attack, the Dogon Dan Na Ambassagou was banned by Mali's government.

But the organisation, which insists it is a self-defence group and had nothing to do with the killings, refused calls to lay down its arms.

The United Nations mission in Mali, in a report dated 31 May, said the security situation in central Mali "continued to deteriorate".

It said that clashes between the Dogon and Fulani had been "exacerbated by the presence of extremist groups", and that the central region had recorded the highest number of attacks against civilians.

Hundreds of people have been killed so far this year.

What effect did the Islamist uprising have?

There are several Islamist groups based in northern Mali. In 2013, they seized half of the country and were advancing on the capital, Bamako.

France, the former colonial power in Mali, and some neighbouring African countries, intervened – and pushed the Islamist groups back towards their strongholds in the Sahara desert.

Before the unrest, disagreements between the Fulani and Dogon were often settled through negotiation.

But the uprising - which had spread to the centre of Mali by 2015 - decreased government control and increased the availability of weapons. </s> Bamako: Attackers believed to belong to the Fulani ethnic group have raided a rival Dogon village in central Mali, killing at least 95 people and burning houses to the ground, local and government officials said on Monday.

Violence between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders has killed hundreds since January, including an attack in March in which gunmen killed more than 150 Fulani, one of the worst acts of bloodshed in Mali's recent history.

Sunday's raid took place in the Sangha district, where Fulanis from the neighbouring Bankass district descended on a Dogon village after dark, Bankass mayor Moulaye Guindo said on Monday.

"Armed men, apparently Fulani, fired at the population and burnt the village," said Siriam Kanoute, an official for the nearby town of Bandiagara. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Dogon villages often follow a traditional way of life

Nearly 100 people have been killed in an attack in a village in central Mali inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group, officials say.

The attack happened in Sobame Da, near Sanga town in the Mopti region.

The search for bodies is ongoing, but officials say 95 people have been found dead, with many of the bodies burned.

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some ethnically driven, some carried out by jihadist groups.

Clashes between Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders are frequent.

Mali's government said "suspected terrorists" had attacked the village at around 03:00 local time. At least 19 people were still missing, it said.

But the mayor of nearby Bankass, Moulaye Guindo, told Reuters news agency that Fulanis from that district had attacked Sobane Da after nightfall.

"About 50 heavily armed men arrived on motorbikes and pickups," a survivor who called himself Amadou Togo told the AFP agency. "They first surrounded the village and then attacked – anyone who tried to escape was killed."

"No-one was spared – women, children, elderly people," he added.

No group has officially said it was responsible for the attack.

"Right now we have 95 dead civilians. The bodies are burned, we are continuing to look for others," a local official told AFP.

What is the Dogon-Fulani conflict?

The Dogon people have lived in central Mali for centuries, and live a largely traditional way of life as settled farmers.

Many Fulani, on the other hand, are semi-nomadic herders who move across large distances in West Africa.

Friction between farmers and the roaming herders over resources is long-standing – but clashes between them have increased since a militant Islamist uprising in northern Mali in 2012.

Both sides accuse the other of carrying out attacks amid the unrest.

The Fulani, a largely Muslim ethnic group, have been accused of having links with the Islamist uprising. But for their part, the Fulani accuse a Dogon self-defence association, Dan Na Ambassagou, of attacks on them.

Analysis: A crisis getting worse

By Louise Dewast, West Africa correspondent

There is a growing view in Mali that the (mostly military) response to this multi-faceted crisis is ineffective and even counter-productive. Despite having a large UN peacekeeping mission and French forces deployed since 2013, insecurity has worsened in some parts of the country.

According to the International Crisis Group, there were four times more attacks in May 2019 compared to May 2016. In their latest report on the country, the group urges the government to engage in dialogue with militants to negotiate local ceasefires and facilitate humanitarian access to civilians in need.

After another massacre of Fulanis in March, senior officials were sacked, people took to the streets – and the entire government resigned in April.

Is this attack unusual?

The attack on Sobame Da has killed about a third of its inhabitants.

In the same region in March, more than 130 Fulani villagers were killed by armed men wearing traditional Dogon hunters' clothing.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In March, more than 130 people were killed in an attack on the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara

After the attack, the Dogon Dan Na Ambassagou was banned by Mali's government.

But the organisation, which insists it is a self-defence group and had nothing to do with the killings, refused calls to lay down its arms.

The United Nations mission in Mali, in a report dated 31 May, said the security situation in central Mali "continued to deteriorate".

It said that clashes between the Dogon and Fulani had been "exacerbated by the presence of extremist groups", and that the central region had recorded the highest number of attacks against civilians.

Hundreds of people have been killed so far this year.

What effect did the Islamist uprising have?

There are several Islamist groups based in northern Mali. In 2013, they seized half of the country and were advancing on the capital, Bamako.

France, the former colonial power in Mali, and some neighbouring African countries, intervened – and pushed the Islamist groups back towards their strongholds in the Sahara desert.

Before the unrest, disagreements between the Fulani and Dogon were often settled through negotiation.

But the uprising - which had spread to the centre of Mali by 2015 - decreased government control and increased the availability of weapons. </s> BAMAKO (Reuters) - Attackers believed to belong to the Fulani ethnic group raided a rival Dogon village in central Mali overnight, killing at least 95 people and burning houses to the ground, local and government officials said on Monday.

Violence between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders has killed hundreds since January, including an attack in March in which gunmen killed more than 150 Fulani, one of the worst acts of bloodshed in Mali’s recent history.

Sunday’s raid took place in the Sangha district, where Fulanis from the neighboring Bankass district descended on a Dogon village after dark, Bankass mayor Moulaye Guindo told Reuters on Monday.

“Armed men, apparently Fulani, fired at the population and burned the village,” said Siriam Kanoute, an official for the nearby town of Bandiagara.

Sangha mayor Ali Dolo told Reuters 95 charred bodies had been found so far, but that the death toll was likely to rise as the village was still ablaze.

“On a population of around 300 inhabitants, only 50 responded to the roll call,” said Dolo.

A security ministry spokesman confirmed the attack, but said the assailants had not been identified. The government later vowed to find those responsible.

“The government of Mali presents its deepest condolences to mourning families and assures all measures will be taken to arrest and punish the authors of this carnage,” the communications ministry said in a statement.

Malian authorities have come under fire for failing to disarm militias or beat back Islamist insurgents. Rights groups have also accused the Malian army of conducting extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, torture and arbitrary arrests against suspected sympathizers of jihadist groups.

Violence between Fulani and rival communities has compounded an already dire security situation in Mali’s semi-arid and desert regions, which are used as a base by groups with ties to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Those groups have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years to boost recruitment and extend their influence over vast swathes of territory.

The Malian government is seen as having lost its grip over parts of the country having outsourced the fight against jihadists to vigilante groups with scores to settle.

The Dogon suspect the Fulani of harboring Islamist militants, charges the Fulani deny.

French forces intervened in Mali, a former French colony, in 2013 to push back a jihadist advance from the north but the militants have since regrouped. </s> Eric Feferberg, AFP | Women belonging to the Dogon ethnic group walk back to the village they left in central Mali after it was taken by Islamist groups in February 2013.

At least 95 people were killed when gunmen raided their village in central Mali late on Sunday, FRANCE 24 has confirmed, marking the latest attack in a region that has witnessed a resurgence of ethnic and jihadist violence.

The attack took place in the ethnic Dogon village of Sobane, in Mali’s central Mopti region, where Dogon hunters and members of the largely nomadic Fulani ethnic group have repeatedly clashed in recent months.

Armed assailants set fire to the village and shot villagers as they sought to escape the flames, the mayor of Sangha told FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Bamako, Christelle Pire.

The mayor said the charred bodies of 95 people had been found and that several more villagers were missing.

Contacted by FRANCE 24, the Malian defence ministry confirmed the death toll at 95, adding that 19 people were still missing and that the toll was likely to rise.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack.

Members of the Dogon and Fulani groups often clash over access to land and water. The Dogon also accuse Fulanis of having ties to local jihadist groups, while Fulanis claim that Mali’s army has armed Dogon hunters to attack them.

Earlier this year, the massacre of more than 150 Fulani villagers, including women and children, prompted Mali’s government to sack senior military officials and dissolve a militia composed of Dogon hunters.

Weeks later, the entire government resigned over its failure to disarm militias and beat back Islamist militants, who continue to stage attacks six years after France helped Malian forces stave off a jihadist insurgency in the country's restive north. </s> Bamako, Mali | AFP | Thirty-seven civilians were killed when armed men believed to be traditional Dogon hunters attacked a village of Fulani herders in central Mali Tuesday in the latest clash between the warring communities, the government said.

The attack on Koulogon village near Bankass in the Mopti region was carried out by “armed men dressed like traditional dozo hunters” allied to the Dogon ethnic group, said an official statement.

“In addition to the 37 recorded deaths, all civilians, the casualty toll includes several wounded and many burned homes”, it added.

Earlier, a security source and a man who said he had witnessed the attack also blamed the Dogon, and put the number of dead at 33.

Allaye Yattara, a Fulani, told AFP: “Our village chief Moussa Diallo was killed in the attack along with old women, (and) a girl, all members of his family.”

France helped Malian forces stave off a jihadist insurgency that took control of large parts of the troubled north in 2012, but since the death in November of Fulani jihadist figure Amadou Koufa, inter-group conflict has increased.

The violence is fuelled by accusations of Fulani grazing cattle on Dogon land and disputes over access to land and water.

The UN recorded more than 500 civilian deaths in the area in 2018.

In June, 24 members of the Fulani community were killed in an attack a UN probe blamed on the Dogon. </s> Nearly 100 people have been killed in attack in a village in central Mali inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group, reports say.

The attack happened in Sobane-Kou, close to Sanga town, according to French-language news outlet RFI.

The bodies of the dead have been burned, says a local official, and the search for more bodies is ongoing.

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some ethnic, some carried out by jihadist groups.

Clashes between Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders are frequent.

The mayor of nearby Bankass, Moulaye Guindo, told Reuters news agency that Fulanis from that district had attacked Sobane-Kou after nightfall.

A local official in the Koundou area, where the village is located, told the AFP agency: “Right now we have 95 dead civilians. The bodies are burned, we are continuing to look for others.”

Clashes between the two groups have grown more frequent since a militant Islamist uprising in northern Mali in 2012.

In the same region in March, more than 130 Fulani villagers were killed by armed men wearing traditional Dogon hunters’ clothing.

Previously, disagreements between the Fulani and Dogon had often been settled through negotiation, but the uprising – which spread to the centre of Mali by 2015 – decreased government control and increased the availability of weapons.

Both sides accuse the other of carrying out attacks amid the unrest. -BBC </s> At least 23 civilians were killed in central Mali after armed men attacked three Fulani communities, a local mayor and security forces said Monday.

Reuters news agency also reported that some 300 people were missing following the attacks.

"During Sunday, and overnight, in the villages of Bidi, Sankoro and Saran, armed men attacked civilians, killing 23 of them," Cheick Harouna Sankare, mayor of the neighboring town of Ouenkoro.

After raiding the village of Saran, the attackers went on to Bidi, but people had already fled, said Harouna Sankare, who blamed the attack on Dogon hunters.

"Since they didn't find anybody [in Bidi], they burned the village and the houses and attacked the cattle," he said.

The attacks come following a wave of deadly assaults between Fulani herders and Dogon farmers who have long fought over land and resources.

The rivalry has escalated in recent years due to the growing presence of armed Islamist groups.

Read more: Mali: 'Worse than anything we’ve seen in living memory'

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's government has promised to disarm the militias but has so far struggled to do so.

Tit-for-tat violence between the rival communities has increased this year. In March, suspected Dogon militiamen killed more than 150 Fulani in central Mali in one of the most violent attacks in the country's recent history. Raids on Dogon villages in June killed over 40 people.

Read more: Mali's security crisis: A cycle of exploitation and corruption

In other parts of central Mali, 12 civilians including a baby were killed on Sunday when the vehicle they were traveling in struck a landmine. Local mayor Issiaka Ganame told Reuters news agency that none of the passengers survived.

It was not clear who laid the mine, but jihadist groups have been known to deploy this kind of ordnance in the region.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Attackers believed to belong to the Fulani ethnic group raided a rival Dogon village in central Mali overnight, killing at least 95 people and burning houses to the ground, local and government officials said on Monday.

Violence between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders has killed hundreds since January, including an attack in March in which gunmen killed more than 150 Fulani, one of the worst acts of bloodshed in Mali’s recent history.

Sunday’s raid took place in the Sangha district, where Fulanis from the neighbouring Bankass district descended on a Dogon village after dark, Bankass mayor Moulaye Guindo told Reuters on Monday.

“Armed men, apparently Fulani, fired at the population and burnt the village,” said Siriam Kanoute, an official for the nearby town of Bandiagara.

Sangha mayor Ali Dolo told Reuters 95 charred bodies had been found so far, but that the death toll was likely to rise as the village was still ablaze.

“On a population of around 300 inhabitants, only 50 responded to the roll call,” said Dolo.

A security ministry spokesman confirmed the attack but said the assailants had not been identified.

Violence between Fulani and rival communities has compounded an already dire security situation in Mali’s semi-arid and desert regions, which are used as a base by jihadist groups with ties to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Those groups have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years to boost recruitment and extend their influence over vast swathes of territory.

The Malian government is seen as having lost its grip over parts of the country having outsourced the fight against jihadists to vigilante groups with scores to settle.

The Dogon suspect the Fulani of harbouring Islamist militants, charges the Fulani deny.

French forces intervened in Mali, a former French colony, in 2013 to push back a jihadist advance from the north but the militants have since regrouped. – Reuters
An attack on a village near the town of Sangha in central Mali kills 95 Dogon villagers. The mayor of nearby Bankass blames local Fulani.