According to a United Nations report, the Fulani people — primarily Muslims in parts of West Africa, were attacked and killed by members of the Dogon tribe.
Dogon people are traditional hunters in northern Côte d'Ivoire, southeast Mali, and Burkina Faso. The Donzo Ton is one of several hunter fraternities in West Africa.
"The [UN] Secretary-General [António Guterres] condemns this act and calls on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice," according to a statement, which added that the UN chief "expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, the Malian people and its government, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured," a UN spokesperson said, following reports that at least 134 civilians killed in the attack, according to a UN press release.
In addition, Guterres has urged Malian authorities to "redouble their efforts to bring peace and stability to central Mali."
Dogon hunters are part of the Bambara, which makes up the largest Mandé people ethnic group in Mali.
Clashes between the Dogon and the Fulani over access to land and water have become more frequent over the last few months.
In addition, over the past few years, Mali has suffered a surge in violence, as a jihadist group led by Islamist preacher Amadou Kouffa from the the central Malian town of Mopti continues to exploit members from the Muslim Fulani community.
Kouffa's jihadist group, known as Katibat Macina — or the Macina Liberation Front — is affiliated with Ansar Dine, a militant Islamist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, one of the leaders of the Tuareg Rebellion, believed to have ties to Al-Qaeda.
Nomadic Tuareg tribes have attempted to gain control over the northern part of the country in recent years. In 2012, a Tuareg insurgency against the government prompted France, Mali's former colonizer, to intervene at the request of the country's authorities.
France's Operation Serval forced most of the rebels out; however, jihadists are still active in the northern territories, which are out of the control of the Malian government or French and UN forces, Sputnik previously reported.
