At least 14 civilians have been killed in a series of attacks carried out in recent days by suspected jihadists in Lere, central Mali, according to officials and local residents who spoke to AFP on Thursday.
Mali has been gripped by violence since 2012, facing repeated assaults from local armed groups and Islamist militants linked to both the Islamic State group and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
A local official, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, revealed that armed fighters launched an attack on Monday, abducting 12 civilians who were later executed. The official blamed the JNIM for the killings.
In a separate incident, two shepherds who had been kidnapped four days earlier were found dead several kilometres from Lere, the official added. The attackers reportedly accused the victims of collaborating with the Malian military.
A United Nations official confirmed the killings, saying: “We have received reports that 14 civilian men have been executed. Hundreds of people have fled in the past 48 hours.”
Two residents who fled Lere to seek refuge in Mauritania told AFP that the assailants had issued a 24-hour ultimatum ordering inhabitants to leave the town. Those unable or unwilling to flee were either killed or abducted.
For the past two weeks, JNIM militants have blockaded Lere and several neighbouring communities. Since September, the group has also prevented fuel tankers from entering Mali from surrounding countries, a move intended to squeeze the ruling military junta by crippling the economy.
According to the UN official, the jihadists accused Lere residents of violating conditions they had previously set.
A security source based in Timbuktu, northern Mali’s largest city, confirmed that “at least 10 people” were killed—an assessment backed by a Malian soldier who travelled to Lere to verify the massacre.
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