BAMAKO, Mali: At least 12 Tuareg civilians died Tuesday in an attack by gunmen in eastern Mali, a region hit by chronic unrest between local tribes and militants, sources said.
About 200 people, many of them civilians from the Fulani and Tuareg tribes have been killed in the area this year as militants claiming allegiance to Daesh clash with local groups backing a French security force and the Malian army.
The attack took place 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Menaka according to a local official, a security source, and a statement by ex-rebels in the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA).
“Armed men on motorcycles killed at least 12 civilians,” the official told AFP, citing a resident of the town who claimed to have seen the bodies.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, added that “for now we do not know exactly who did it. I don’t know if it was the result of a dispute between tribes or a terrorist act.”
The security source said some of his sources spoke of 12 dead, while others put the toll at 16.
The MSA statement said “armed individuals on motorcycles had executed 17 civilians” from two Tuareg camps.
Mali’s unrest stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising which was exploited by extremists in order to take over key cities in the north.
The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.
At least 12 dead in Mali attack near Nigeria
At least 12 dead in Mali attack near Nigeria
- About 200 people, many of them civilians from the Fulani and Tuareg tribes have been killed in the area this year by militants
- Mali’s unrest stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising which was exploited by extremists
UK police arrest former ambassador Peter Mandelson in probe into Epstein ties
- Former UK ambassador to the US arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
LONDON: British police on Monday arrested Peter Mandelson, a former UK ambassador to the United States, in a misconduct probe stemming from his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
London’s Metropolitan Police force said “officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office” at an address in north London.
It did not name Mandelson, in keeping with British police practice, but the suspect in the case has previously been identified as Mandelson.
Police are investigating Mandelson over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. He does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
His arrest comes four days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested on suspicion of a similar offense related to his friendship with Epstein.
Mandelson was fired from his diplomatic post in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. When more details emerged in documents released by the US Justice Department last month, police opened a criminal probe.
