Suspected jihadists killed 40 Tuaregs, mostly young men, in two attacks in northern Mali's Menaka region, which the local governor said seemed calculated to spark an ethnic conflict between Tuareg and Fulani herders. Menaka governor Daouda Maiga told Reuters by telephone that the attacks happened in the remote desert villages of Awakassa on Friday and in Anderanboucane, a day earlier. Jihadist groups are seen as the greatest threat to security across Africa's Sahel region. Islamic State's Saharan affiliate is active in the Menaka region bordering Niger. "The MSA is fighting the Islamist groups, which are composed mostly of Fulani," Maiga said.

Source: CBC News April 28, 2018 21:00 UTC