Victims are mainly young people. Young people who were about to celebrate a traditional collective marriage in central Mali when Malian army drones struck.
These strikes took place on Sunday in the town of Ténenkou, located in the San region (central). They come amid a context marked by a critical security situation in the country after large-scale coordinated attacks carried out on April 25 and 26 by jihadists from the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), allied to Al-Qaeda, and the rebellion of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), dominated by Tuaregs.
«Ten of our children were killed by shots of unknown origin,» said a resident of the town speaking anonymously to AFP. «What was supposed to be a joyful moment in the village turned into immense sadness,» he lamented.
A motorcade of motorcycles
A security source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, confirmed the strikes. «The tragedy occurred as villagers were preparing for the second edition of this traditional collective marriage, a major cultural event for this community,» he told AFP.
According to him, the strikes targeted «a motorcade of several motorcycles following each other.» «This is certainly what caught the attention of the drones. There were at least nine deaths,» he added.
A local official also confirmed to AFP about a dozen deaths. «A wedding was supposed to take place when drones killed at least ten civilians. It’s really a mourning,» he recounted to AFP.
