In Mali, about twenty people were killed on Sunday, July 21 in the village of Dembo, in the commune of Dimbal, near Bankass, in central Mali. No official claim, but local sources contacted by RFI all attribute the attack to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, linked to al-Qaeda, which imposes its law in many villages in the area and carries out recurring attacks in others.
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The many local sources contacted by RFI – elected officials, community representatives, Dozo hunters – report at least 25 deaths. Most of them are villagers who were working in their fields. Four of the victims are traditional Dozo hunters who are trying, in this part of the country, to defend the inhabitants against the jihadists of Jnim. The attack occurred around 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 21.
Another nearby village, Sogou Dorkoum, was also attacked on Sunday afternoon. No casualties were reported, but looting was reported, particularly of animals. Last week, on Tuesday, July 16, the jihadists attacked Bagourou and Yabatalou – again, only looting was reported –, then Deguessagou on Friday, July 19, where two Dozo hunters who were watching the fields were killed.
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At the start of the winter, agricultural work is theoretically intense for sowing and launching crops. A local resident mentions the ” psychosis ” residents who fear, when they go to the fields, that they will not come back alive. Some sources report population movements.
At the beginning of the month, Jnim had already killed 21 villagers in Djiguibombo. And if we go back in time, the list of attacks on villages or kidnappings of buses traveling on the RN15, which crosses the region, is long: Jnim has concluded local agreements with many municipalities in the area, but is increasing acts of violence against those who refuse to submit to their rules.
Contacted by RFI, neither the governorate nor the Malian army wished to comment.
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