Suspected jihadist gunmen kill 26 villagers in central Mali

Gunmen killed 26 people in an attack on a village in central Mali's Mopti region, according to Reuters citing a local official. The massacre occurred Sunday evening in the Circle of Bankass, one of several hotspots where jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have been fighting a bloody insurgency. Villagers were working in their fields when the assailants opened fire, Bankass Mayor Moulaye Guindo told Reuters. Soldiers only arrived after the attack, the mayor added, highlighting the growing insecurity in the central African nation.

Jihadist violence in the Sahel region south of Sahara has expanded from Mali to Burkina Faso, Niger, and recently northwards to coastal nations like Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Thousands have died, and millions more have been displaced. In the last several years, governments’ inability to protect civilians helped prompt military coups across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. These juntas subsequently sought Russian support, distancing themselves from traditional Western allies, in their fight against insurgents.