Armed men kill 37 civilians in part of Mali hit by ethnic violence

The government has said armed men killed thirty-seven Fulani civilians on Tuesday in central Mali, where ethnic violence cost hundreds of lives last year.

The government said in a statement that the attackers, who were dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, raided the village of Koulogon in the central Mopti region and that some of the victims were children.

Violence between Fulani and rival communities has compounded an already dire security situation in Mali’s semi-arid and desert regions, which are used as a base by jihadist groups with ties to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Mali has been in turmoil since Tuareg rebels and loosely allied Islamists took over its north in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year.