A group of Malians have demonstrated in the central city of Bankass to demand state protection after more than 130 civilians were killed by jihadists in neighbouring villages, one of its worst civilian killing which is the latest in an ongoing series across the Sahel.
According to the government, 132 civilians were killed by men from the Katiba Macina, the group of Fulani preacher Amadou Kouffa, in Diallassagou and two surrounding localities, a few dozen kilometres from Bankass.
The head of the junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, declared three days of mourning, as the political class in Bamako unanimously expressed its compassion while rallying once again around the armed forces.
