A civil entity representing Berber tribes from eastern Mali has reported that at least 48 civilians were killed last weekend in a massacre attributed to the branch of the jihadist organization Islamic State in the Sahel, known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
The so-called executive office of the Idaksahak community, a people that has directly suffered this attack, detailed in a statement disseminated on social media that the massacre took place on Sunday in the locality of Tagadayat, located in the Ménaka region.
According to this message, the jihadists, true to their usual "modus operandi," burst into the area on motorcycles and began to shoot indiscriminately at the inhabitants.
The aggression has triggered a "significant displacement of the population." Numerous families, especially "women, children, and the elderly," have been "forced to leave their homes and belongings to find refuge in the city of Ménaka."
In light of this situation, the Idaksahak demand urgent action from the authorities of Mali, from the United Nations, from humanitarian organizations both national and international, and from the country's partners "as well as from all people of good will," with the aim that "emergency humanitarian assistance is provided to the displaced families and affected populations."
The statement also "urges the competent authorities to strengthen measures to protect the civilian population and to take all necessary measures to prevent further tragedies."
For its part, another civil organization, the Collective for the Defense of the Rights of the People of Azawad, suspects that this offensive could be a retaliation linked to the operations of the Malian Army and the Russian mercenaries of the Africa Corps who support the military in their actions, according to a statement cited by Radio France Internationale (RFI).