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Many killed in central Mali ethnic attacks: Officials
Armed men on motorcycles have killed at least 27 civilians in central Mali in three attacks on ethnic Dogon farming villages in less than 24 hours, local officials said on Thursday.
Central Mali has been ravaged in recent years by ethnic reprisal killings, as recriminations between Fulani herding and Dogon farming communities over violence compound long-standing grievances.
Local officials told Reuters news agency they believed the three attacks, between Tuesday night and Wednesday evening, were carried out by people claiming to be defending Fulani against rival Dogon.
“We were surprised by the attack on the village of Tille. Seven were killed, all Dogons, some of them burned alive,” said Yacouba Kassogue, the deputy mayor of Doucombo, the municipality in which Tille is located.
Attacks on villages in the neighbouring areas of Bankass and Koro killed another 20 civilians, most of them shot or burned to death, local officials said.
A spokesman for Mali’s army was not immediately available for comment. The army has been criticised by rights groups and residents for failing to protect civilians in central Mali.
Violence between the Dogon and Fulani has compounded an already dire security situation in Mali’s semi-arid and desert regions, which are used as a base by armed groups with ties to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group.
The Fulani are primarily cattle breeders and traders, while the Dogon are traditionally sedentary farmers.
Last year, the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced it recorded “at least 488 deaths” in attacks on Fulanis in the central regions of Mopti and Segou.
In the bloodiest raid, about 160 Fulani villagers were slaughtered in March last year at Ogossagou, near the border with Burkina Faso, by suspected Dogon hunters.
MINUSMA said since January 2018, armed Fulanis had “caused 63 deaths” among the civilians in the Mopti region.
MINUSMA has been operating in Mali since 2013, which ranks as the most dangerous UN mission, with 125 peacekeepers killed in attacks since deployment.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a consultancy that tracks political violence, says it recorded nearly 300 civilian deaths in Mali in the first three months of 2020, a 90 percent increase over the previous quarter.
AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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COP Yohuno takes over from Dr.Dampare as new IGP
President John Dramani Mahama has in accordance with Articles 91 and 202 of the 1992 constitution and in consultation with the Council of State, appointed Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno as the Inspector-General of Police.
He replaces COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.
COP Yohuno brings forty years of experience to the position of IGP and is expected to oversee the modernization and transformation of the Ghana Police Service.
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Minister for the Interior Urges European Union to Improve on Collaboration and Support
The Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, commended the European Union (EU) for its continuous support and initiatives in Ghana and urged the Union to enhance collaboration and support with the Ministry and its agencies.
Ghana takes security issues seriously and will do everything possible to protect the peace and maintain security in the country, the Minister assured.
Other areas of collaboration discussed during the meeting aimed to improve the Ghana Prisons Service, particularly decongestion and equipment improvement.
Hon. Muntaka made these remarks while receiving a delegation from the EU, led by its Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Irchad Razaaly.
The delegation assessed the EU’s Defence and Security initiative in Ghana, as well as supporting the country’s security and defence capabilities.
The initiative is part of the EU’s integrated approach to tackling instability and insecurity challenges in the region.
The EU Security and Defence Initiative (EU SDI) in the Gulf of Guinea region is geared towards strengthening the security and defence capabilities of Ghana and effectively respond to security threats.
