Ethnic violence in Mali

This item appears on page 16 of the August 2019 issue.

At least 100 people were killed at a Dogon village in central Mali in early June. The attackers were suspected to have been Fulani.

Conflict between the Dogon, farmers who practice a traditional religion, and the Fulani, nomadic Muslim herders, has been ongoing for decades and was formerly handled through negotiation. However, since an Islamist insurgency was attempted in Mali in 2012, government services in the center of the country have been limited, despite the insurgency’s having been quickly defeated. Without government assistance for the two groups, tensions between them have become increasingly hostile, with each group accusing the other of acts of violence.