Official: Death toll could reach 100 in Mali clash
May 26, 2012, 12:32 AM
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) – A government official says the death toll from a clash near Burkina Faso’s border with Mali could be as high as 100.
The violence started Tuesday and pitted two ethnic groups against each other in the village of Sari, across the border in Malian territory.
The governor of Burkina Faso’s northern region, Boukary Kalil Bara, said on state television Friday that eyewitnesses had identified 61 victims by Thursday night, overwhelmingly from the Peul ethnic group. The tally was close to 100 by Friday, when more survivors were interviewed.
Under an agreement with the Malian government, the Peul, traditionally herders, have been allowed to traverse an area occupied by the Dogon people near the border. The tension is due to the fact that cattle often damage the Dogon’s farm fields.
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