A terrible tragedy occurred on the night of June 18-19, 2022 in the center of Mali, when terrorists from Katiba Macina, carried out a barbaric attack against civilians in several villages in the Mopti region, as announced by Colonel Abdoulaye MAÏGA, government spokesman in an official statement: “The government of the Republic of Mali deeply regrets to inform that the peaceful populations of the villages of Diallassagou, Dianweli, Deguessagou and surrounding areas in the circle of Bankass were subjected to cowardly and barbaric terrorist attacks during the night of June 18 to 19, 2022.” The same source reports that 132 civilians were killed in these attacks, in the statement the Malian government also assured that “all measures will be taken to seek out and bring the authors of these crimes to justice.”
The Malian army (FAMa), in turn, was quick to take action to punish the perpetrators, as reported in an official communiqué: “Air strikes targeted between June 20 and 22, 2022, logistical hubs and terrorist sanctuaries of Amadou Kouffa’s Katiba Macina in the areas of Djenné, Ténenkou, Segué, and the forest of Sama, in the Bankass circle.” The statement added that “these actions are the result of efforts to search for and gather information on the perpetrators of the attacks on civilians on June 18. It should also be noted that these attacks were unanimously condemned by Mali’s political class and civil society as well as by the international community.
Witnesses to the attacks have given testimony that raises many questions. Amadou Guindo, mayor of Diallasagou, in an interview for VOA Afrique, claimed that the terrorists spoke “all sorts of languages. In addition, there are reports on Facebook and Twitter that the attackers included people with fair skin who spoke French proficiently. Some witnesses also report that some of the attackers were heavily armed and deliberately covered their bodies with gloves and masks.
It should also be mentioned that on March 4, 2022, there was an attack on the Mondoro security post in the Douentza circle in which 27 Malian soldiers were killed. After the attack, social networks and the media also reported that “Europeans” had been spotted among the attackers.
It is unclear at this time whether foreign individuals were involved in the recent attacks. The ” fair-skinned ” people who spoke French well could have been either French or Arabs. However, the fact that these testimonies are not the first to be reported raises many suspicions and undoubtedly requires further investigation.
