Three years ago, on March 23, 2019, this Fulani village of Ogossagou located near Bankass, in central Mali, was attacked by armed men. Traditional dozo hunters for the most part. 160 civilians were killed. Less than a year later, on February 14, 2020, the village was targeted by a new attack, killing 35 people. Back to this double tragedy.
It is around 5 a.m. when a hundred armed men enter the Fulani part of the village of Ogossagou. According to the accounts of witnesses and the UN reports published since, they are mainly traditional dozo hunters, recognizable by their dress and their charms, accompanied by a dozen men, some in military uniform.
They set fire to homes and executed 160 civilians. Three mass graves will be discovered. Men, women, children, no one is spared: most are shot dead, others are burned. According to the United Nations, the attack is ” planned, organized and coordinated “.
Dan Na Ambassagou exists despite its dissolution
In the aftermath, the main leaders of the Malian army were dismissed and the Prime Minister, late Soumeylou Boubeye Maïga, forced to resign.
The Dozo Dogon militia Dan Na Ambassagou, singled out and which has always denied, is officially dissolved by the Malian government. But in fact, Dan Na Ambassagou still exists and remains an interlocutor of Bamako.
Less than a year later, the village is attacked again, again by a group of dozo hunters. The victims, there are 35, are pursued in the bushes, some are mutilated and decapitated “, according to a United Nations report. For the UN, this second massacre could have been avoided if the Malian soldiers stationed in Ogossagou, informed of the threat of an attack, had waited for relief before leaving the scene, leaving the villagers to their fate.
The leader of this militia [Dan Na Ambassagou ndlr], Youssouf Toloba, was not worried at all. As proof, he continues to send messages on Whatsapp calling for Fulani ethnic cleansing.
Binta Sidibé-Gascon (Kisal Observatory): “Justice has not done its job”