Death toll from attack in central Mali rises to 17

The death toll from an inter-ethnic attack in central Mali, which occurred in the run-up to crucial elections, has risen from at least three dead to 17, local media quoted sources as saying on Friday.

Armed men described as traditional hunters attacked the village of Somena on Wednesday, marking the latest flare up between nomadic Fulani and farmers from the Bambara and Dogon communities.

Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of Tabital Pulaaku, the main Fulani association in Mali, said 17 people had died.

“We recovered all the bodies of the Fulani civilians who were killed and thrown into a well by Dogon hunters” he said.

The death toll of 17, inflicted by “armed men,” was confirmed independently by a Malian government official who gave no further details.

Malian voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president.