The motorbikes were moving in a line through Tene when the drones came. That is how a security source described it to AFP: “a procession of motorbikes following one another.” He added, “That is certainly what drew the attention of the drones.”
Malian army strikes on Sunday killed at least 10 civilians in the village, in the central San region. They had been getting ready to celebrate a traditional mass wedding, security and local sources told AFP.
What residents say
One resident, who asked not to be named, said “10 of our children” had died. “What was supposed to be a moment of joy in the village turned into immense sorrow,” he said.
The security source said villagers were preparing the second edition of the collective wedding, “a major cultural event for this community.” He asked for anonymity for his own safety.
A local elected official put the toll at around 10 as well. “A wedding was about to take place when the drones killed at least 10 civilians. It is truly a time of mourning,” he told AFP.
A junta under attack
The strikes fall in the middle of a security crisis that has rocked the ruling junta. Last month, Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists and Tuareg separatists carried out large-scale coordinated attacks. The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) had teamed up in April with the Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), aiming at junta positions.
On April 25 and 26 they hit strategic towns in a deadly offensive that killed the country’s influential defence minister. Kidal and other northern towns and villages are now under FLA and jihadist control. The two groups have blockaded Bamako, the capital.
Mali’s troubles are older than this offensive. Since 2012, violence tied to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, to separatists, and to community-based criminal networks has deepened the country’s security crisis.
