Government: 95 dead in latest massacre to hit central Mali

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – A government official says at least 95 people are dead following the latest massacre in central Mali blamed on tensions between ethnic militias.

Interior Security ministry spokesman Amadou Sangho says the attack took place overnight in an ethnic Dogon village. Another 19 people were missing.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bloodshed in the village of Sobane. It comes amid rising tensions between ethnic Dogons and ethnic Peuhls, who had threatened reprisal attacks following a massacre earlier this year.

An ethnic Dogon militia was blamed for that attack on the Peuhl village of Ogossagou that killed more than 150 people in March.

The violence is exacerbated by the presence of Islamic extremists in the area.

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