United States officials have condemned a recent militant assault on a bus in central Mali which killed at least 31 passengers and injured 17, according to a Reuters report.
The incident occurred on Dec. 3 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus traveling its twice-weekly route from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara located 6 miles away, Mayor Moulaye Guindo of the nearby town of Bankass said in the report.
"The United States strongly condemns the attack on civilians on Saturday near Bandiagara, Mali, which left 31 dead and 17 injured," State Department spokesman Ned Price said as reported by Reuters.
The villages are located in the center of the Mopti region, which has been a hotbed of violence in Mali caused by militants with ties to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, the report said. The Sahel region of Africa, which Mopti lies within, has been plagued by jihadist strikes that have claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions throughout Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Malian people and will continue to partner with them in their pursuit of a safe, prosperous, and democratic future,” Price said.
According to a separate Reuters article, an internal security memo shared by an anonymous source claimed first responders to the site initially found 25 burned bodies in the truck.
“Armed men ... shot at the vehicle, slashed the tires, and shot at the people,” Guindo said in the Reuters report.
Guindo and another local official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that at least 31 individuals were killed and many more were wounded or went missing shortly after the incident, Reuters reported.
Photos depicting the burning frame of a bus filled with apparent victims slumped over in their seats have reportedly emerged on social media. Reuters was unable to independently verify the legitimacy of the photos.
