Ifidon Janet
The UN has confirmed that the death toll from Saturday’s attack by gunmen on villagers in central Mali has risen to 157. A government spokesman, Amadou Kotia, confirm the figure on Tuesday. Government sources had on Saturday disclosed that about 134 were killed in a deadly attack on a Fulani village.
While giving the update, the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres affirms that the head of the UN is shocked and angered by the reports, noting that he is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
“The secretary-general is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed.”
It was also reported that the attack was the worst that had ever happened in the community since inter-ethnic violence started in the village.
Donzo hunters are part of the largest ethnic group in Mali called the Bambara, and are believed to be the semi-nomadic Fulani people who are scattered through the Sahel region and other parts of West Africa. They have also been accused for the killing of 37 people in a Fulani village sometimes in January.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said the crimes may fall under the court’s jurisdiction and that a delegation will be sent to Mali. A U.N. Security Council mission was already visiting the former French colony to seek solutions to the violence when the attack took place
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