Dozens killed in attacks on villages in central Mali
Dozens of people have been killed in attacks on villages in Mali's central Mopti region, according to local, security and administrative sources.
The assaults were reported in Korikori and Gomossogou, with the attackers described as al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters.
Sources cited by news agencies said at least 30 people were killed in the two villages on Wednesday.
Separate accounts from an aid worker, a diplomat and a security source put the toll at at least 50 in unnamed localities in Mopti.
The attacks came a day after armed fighters stormed Kenieroba Central Prison, a recently built complex about 60km southwest of Bamako.
The prison houses 2,500 inmates, including at least 72 described by the Malian state as high value.
The violence adds to a wider surge in unrest in Mali since late April.
That period has included coordinated attacks linked to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, and the Tuareg-dominated rebel group Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA.
The latest killings also come as civilians in central Mali face conflict over land and water resources during the dry season.
