https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mali:-militants-kill-at-least-20-civilians-in-gao-troubled-r

Mali: Militants kill at least 20 civilians in Gao troubled region

Militants in Mali killed at least 20 civilians in attacks on villages near the northern town of Gao over the weekend, while a landmine killed a UN peacekeeper in the troubled region.

A senior police officer said that "criminal terrorists" on Saturday killed at least 20 civilians in several parts of the Anchawadj commune, a few dozen kilometers north of Gao.

A local official attributed the attacks to jihadists and said the death toll reached 24, indicating that the killings occurred at Ebak, some 35 kilometers (23 miles) north of Gao, the region's main town.

The official described a "general panic" in the area, adding that the situation in Anchawadj was "very concerning", and civilians were fleeing the area fearing further violence.

Targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes

Following the bloodshed on Saturday, a landmine killed a UN peacekeeper on Sunday as he was out on patrol further north in Kidal, the head of the UN's MINUSMA Mali force, El Ghassim Wane, tweeted.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killing of the peacekeeper, who he said was from Guinea.