Armed men kill 30 villagers in Mali attacks

BAMAKO: Armed men have killed at least 30 villagers in Mali in simultaneous attacks on several villages in the conflict-riven centre of the country, local officials said on Friday. The attacks took place on Wednesday in the Bankass region, but were not immediately confirmed because of the difficulty in accessing information from the area. Officials did not immediately blame any group, but central Mali has become one of the flashpoints of the country´s conflict, with regular jihadist assaults and intercommunal fighting between ethnic groups.