[Al Jazeera] Armed men have killed more than 100 people in central Mali, according to local officials, in what is one of the deadliest attacks in a country plagued by worsening ethnic violence and the rise of gangs. Moulaye Guindo, the mayor of the town of Bankass, said men dressed as traditional Donzo hunters encircled and attacked the nearby Fulani village of Ogossagou-Peul at around 4am (04:00 GMT) on Saturday.
"It's a very heavy corpse count," he told Rooters news agency. "The village of Ogossagou is completely devastated," the mayor said, adding that bodies were still being discovered.
"The body count continues by the gendarmes, who have just told me they have found 110 bodies, but the count continues," he said.
Guindo said another nearby Fulani village, Welingara, had also been attacked, causing "a number" of deaths.
Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of Tabital Pulaaku, a group representing ethnic Fulani, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency that the corpse count in Ogossagou was 115.
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peacekeeping mission in Mali confirmed reports of an attack but gave no figures, according to AP.
ETHNIC TENSIONS
Donzo hunters are part of the Bambara, Mali's largest ethnic group. The semi-nomadic Fulani people are dispersed throughout the Sahel and West Africa.
Saturday's attack is believed to be the latest in a series of festivities between the communities of Donzo and Fulani - also known as Peul - that have left dozens dead in recent months.
In January, Donzo hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in a Fulani village.