Mali: More than forty civilians killed on Sunday by armed men

More than 40 civilians were killed on Sunday in attacks carried out by armed men in the Ménaka region of northeastern Mali, causing population displacements, several security, local and civil society sources told AFP on Monday.

These bloody attacks, carried out by armed men arriving on motorcycles, targeted, according to these sources, several camps belonging mainly to the Daoussahak community, from which the armed movement "Movement for the Salvation of Azawad" (MSA), close to the junta in power in Bamako, originates.

The Daoussahak community executive office attributed these attacks to the Islamic State (IS) organization, according to a statement released on Monday.

The attacks targeted camps located about fifty kilometers from the town of Ménaka, notably in the locality of Tinabow and the Tagadayat sector.

According to a security source based in Gao interviewed by AFP, the killing took place "in retaliation for recent military operations in the area and attacks by the MSA".

"According to the information we are receiving, there have been around forty deaths, mostly men," the source added.

The same source added that the residence in Ménaka of the head of the MSA, Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, also a member of the National Transitional Council (CNT - legislative body of the military in power in Mali) was "also targeted in Ménaka, without causing any casualties".

- "Dozens of bodies" -

Since 2012, Mali has been gripped by a deep security crisis fueled in particular by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as by community-based criminal groups and Tuareg separatist movements. This is compounded by a severe economic crisis.

This Sahelian country has been ruled by a junta since two coups in 2020 and 2021, and is struggling to contain jihadist violence.

"Armed men stormed several camps 50 km from the town of Ménaka. They shot at anything that moved. Fifty civilians were killed, including young people and the elderly," another security source told AFP on Monday regarding Sunday's killings.

"Even today (Monday, editor's note), people are still arriving in Ménaka...", the source added.

According to a local source in Tinabow interviewed by AFP, "several dozen motorcycles suddenly arrived and began shooting and setting fire to houses" on Sunday evening.

"They (the attackers, editor's note) didn't speak to anyone, they just started killing. I saw dozens of bodies," the source continued.

A local official confirmed to AFP this heavy toll, reporting "more than 50 dead including women and the elderly", also mentioning a significant displacement of population towards the city of Ménaka.

According to the Daoussahak community executive office, at least "48 civilians were killed on Sunday, October 18, 2026 in the locality of Tagadayat".

In its statement, the organization denounces the "massacre" of "defenseless civilian populations" carried out by assailants "who arrived on several motorcycles".

This organization is also launching an appeal for emergency humanitarian aid for displaced people.

The Malian army, for its part, claimed to have conducted operations on Saturday in the same area, 65 km southwest of the town of Ménaka.

"A major base housing several terrorist elements as well as war and logistics equipment (...) was targeted and successfully struck," the Malian Armed Forces said.