| 2020 Bankass massacres | |
|---|---|
| Part of Dogon-Fulani conflict during the Mali War | |
| Location | Gouari, Djimdo, Pangadougou, and Dialaikanda, Bankass Cercle, Mali |
| Date | July 1, 2020 3pm-9pm |
| Target | Dogon civilians |
| Deaths | 32 |
| Injured | 4 |
| Perpetrator |  Fulani militants of JNIM (suspected) |
On July 1, 2020, Fulani militants attacked four Dogon villages in Mali's Bankass Cercle, killing at least thirty-three people.
Throughout the Mali War, inter-ethnic clashes have erupted several times between Dogon dozos and Fulani militants over land usage stemming from the Fulani's pastoralist lifestyles and the Dogon using their land for farming. [1] When the Mali War intensified in the Mopti Region, the jihadist Katiba Macina movement attracted many young Fulani as it overthrew the traditional Fulani caste system. [2] Around this time, Dogon dozos formed Dan Na Ambassagou militias in Dogon areas, which were armed by the Malian government. This made inter-ethnic conflict not just between Dogon and Fulani, but often also between the jihadist Katiba Macina and the larger Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin against the pro-government Dan Na Ambassagou. [1] In the area of the massacres, Dogon militants had recently launched attacks against Fulani villages. [3]
Around sixty motorcycles attacked the village of Pangadougou around 3pm, killing one person. [4] The jihadists then moved onto the village of Djimdo, targeting residents who were returning to the village from their fields. [3] In Gouari, sixteen people were killed and four others were injured. The last village attacked by the jihadists was Dialaikanda, although nobody was killed or injured in the attack. [5] An elder from Gouari who survived the massacre stated that there were no security forces in the town between 3pm and 9pm, and chastised the Malian army for never being able to prevent an attack by jihadists. [6] The residents' livestock was seized by the attackers, and several buildings were burnt down in Gouari and Djimdo. [4]
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. [3] However, Fulani militants of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin were suspected to be responsible. [7] An anonymous Malian official stated that at least thirty people were killed in the massacres, with that number later rising to thirty-three people killed and five others injured, as well as an unknown number of residents missing. [6] [3] Amnesty International stated thirty-two people had been killed in a 2022 report. [4]
A Malian military unit was dispatched to the area the following day, and helped bury thirty-one bodies. On July 3, Malian forces received information about a renewed attack in Gouari, and sent a contingent of soldiers to the village. However, the village was deserted, and nine Malian soldiers were killed and two others were injured in an ambush. [6]
The Katibat Macina, also known as the Macina Liberation Movement or Macina Liberation Front, is a militant Islamist group that operates in Mali. It is an affiliate of Ansar Dine.
Amadou Koufa, nom de guerre of Amadou Diallo, also spelled Hamadoun Kouffa or Amadou Kouffa is a Malian Fulani jihadist and preacher who founded Katiba Macina, later part of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
On March 23, 2019, several attacks by gunmen killed a reported 160 Fulani herders in central Mali. The violence came in the aftermath of the Malian government cracking down on Islamic terror cells in the country. Two villages, Ogossagou and Welingara, were particularly affected.
On 10 June 2019, the Dogon village of Sobane Da in Mali was attacked. Moulaye Guindo, mayor of neighbouring Bankass, blamed a Fulani militia group. The attack killed 35 people, revised from an earlier claim of 95 killed with 19 missing. A survivor said the attackers numbered about 50, driving motorbikes and pickup trucks. The government of Mali has suspected that terrorists have committed the attack.
Events in the year 2021 in Mali.
On 18 and 19 June 2022, 132 civilians were killed by Islamist insurgents in Bankass Cercle, Mopti Region, Mali.
On October 13, 2022, an IED hit a civilian bus travelling along the Bandiagara-Goundaka highway in rural Mali, killing 10 civilians and injuring dozens more. The attack was alleged to be coordinated by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
The battle of Farimake took place between November 22 and 23, 2018, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and Katibat Macina, a regional variant of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. French forces launched an assault on Katiba Macina, claiming to have killed their leader Amadou Koufa.
The Koulogon massacre took place on January 1, 2019, in a Fulani village near the town of Koulogon Habbé, Bankass Cercle, Mali.
On April 21, 2019, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked a Malian military base at Guiré, Mali, as revenge for the Ogossagou massacre.
Between October 16 and 17, 2018, joint Franco-Malian forces clashed with Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in a forest near Ndaki, Mali.
On April 24, 2022, militants from Katibat Macina attacked Malian Army bases in the cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho, all in central Mali's Mopti Region. The attacks killed fifteen soldiers and six civilians.
On January 27, 2018, militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Coalition of the People of Azawad attacked a Malian military base in Soumpi, Mali.
On January 25, 2018, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked the village of Youwarou in Mali, but the attack was repelled by Malian forces.
On March 5, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attacked Malian forces in Boulikessi. The attack was the first by JNIM since its inception that month.
On May 29, 2016, Katiba Macina militants ambushed Togolese peacekeepers in MINUSMA near Sévaré, Mali. The attack was the first deadly attack against UN peacekeepers in Mopti Region during the Mali War, and the first major engagement involving Togolese peacekeepers during the war.
On October 28, 2015, a battle broke out in Tiébanda, Mali, between Katiba Macina militants and Malian forces.
Mahmoud Barry, war name Abou Yehiya, is a Malian jihadist and second-in-command of Katiba Macina. Since 2022 he has been the spokesperson of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
On January 22, 2020, six Malian soldiers were killed in an ambush by unknown jihadists in Dioungani, Mopti Region, Mali.
Between October 6, 2020, and October 22, 2020, Fulani militants from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin's Katiba Macina laid siege to the town of Farabougou, Ségou Region, Mali. The fighting initially began as an intensification of ethnic conflict between Bambara and Fulani militias, and escalated when Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin surrounded the city. As JNIM tightened the siege on the city, residents faced famine and drought. Mediation committees composed of leaders and elders from nearby villages attempted to negotiate the lifting of the siege, but Malian forces liberated it on October 22. Jihadists still held a large presence near the town for weeks to come.