11 civilians residing in a camp for the displaced were killed in an attack by terrorists in northern Mali, local officials and relief elements reported.
The Kadji camp for the displaced is just a few kilometers from Gao, the capital of the region, which has witnessed a wave of escalating unrest in recent months.
A local official in Tessit, from which many residents of the camp and official television stated that 11 people were killed, a number confirmed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The camp attacked gunmen on motorcycles, according to several sources.
The Gao and Minaka regions east have witnessed wide operations carried out by ISIS in the Sahara since March.
This led to confrontations with armed groups stationed in broad desert areas and to massacres committed against civilians. Tens of thousands of people fled the impact of violence.
About 60,000 displaced people were registered in Gao alone, according to a United Nations document issued this month.
“What happened was terrible,” said local official of France Press.
“The attack took place in a camp for the displaced, where the people of Tessit come due to the attacks that targeted our homes,” he added.
“I have set fire to all shelters and all livestock were taken,” said Mohamed Toure, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Mali.
He added that the Commission provided psychological and social support to the victims.
The commander of the army operations in the region, Colonel Famoki Camara, indicated that the attack was a retaliatory operation by the terrorists against young people who had a confrontation with them in Tessit this year and they were displaced to the Kadji camp.
Independence defenders took control of Gao in 2012, so that the terrorists later replace them..
About Author
