Chief: Islamic extremists holding about 30 ethnic Dogon males hostage after bus raid

BAMAKO, Mali — Suspected Islamic extremists are holding about 30 males from the Dogon ethnic group hostage after ambushing a number of public transport buses in central Mali earlier this week, a neighborhood chief mentioned Friday.

Bocar Guindo mentioned that armed males initially kidnapped about 40 individuals who had been touring Tuesday between Koro and Bankass. The ladies aboard, although, had been later launched, he mentioned.

Whereas there was no speedy declare of duty, suspicion instantly fell on Islamic extremists who’ve been working within the space for years and are identified to focus on public transport.

Their rising presence has heightened communal tensions, with members of the Peuhl ethnic group being accused of collaborating with them. Dogon communities, in the meantime, have been focused for allegedly supporting the Malian military’s counterinsurgency efforts.

An analogous assault occurred in 2021, when armed males figuring out themselves as jihadis took dozens of individuals hostage in the identical a part of central Mali. The hostages had been launched solely after their households paid ransoms.

Mali’s Islamic insurgency started spreading into the central a part of the nation after a French-led navy operation ousted jihadis from energy in main cities throughout the north in 2013.

Safety issues have solely grown since a 2020 coup deposed Mali’s democratically elected president. The military colonel who seized energy, Assimi Goita, has sought to distance the nation from its one-time worldwide companions.

Final 12 months, French troops left Mali after almost a decade of serving to struggle exremists within the former colony. And now U.N. peacekeepers are within the technique of departing on the request of the Malian junta-led authorities.