Villagers killed in central Mali as mediators seek to restore stability

BAMAKO, July 16 (Reuters) - Armed men killed at least 12
villagers in central Mali, local officials said on Thursday,
while in the capital Bamako West African mediators held talks on
how to end a wave of protests against Malian President Ibrahim
Boubacar Keita.
Several mass protests since early June have demanded Keita's
resignation, accusing him, among other things, of failing to
quash violence by jihadist groups and ethnic militias that has
killed hundreds of civilians this year.
In the latest attacks, armed men on motorbikes targeted
seven villages inhabited by Dogon farmers in Mopti region, said
Ali Dolo, the mayor of a nearby town.
"Among the dead, 10 were cultivating their fields," he told
Reuters. "This means the attacks are aimed at preventing people
from farming."
Another local mayor placed the final death toll at 13.
In Bamako, meanwhile, Nigeria's former president Goodluck
Jonathan arrived on Wednesday to lead a delegation from West
African regional bloc ECOWAS.
The delegation is due to meet with Keita, opposition leaders
and the electoral commission in an effort to end violent clashes
between protesters and security forces that have killed at least
11 people since last Friday.
"With the cooperation of you and people of good will who
want the problem to be resolved, I am hopeful that the crisis
will end," he told the state radio station on Thursday.
Last Saturday, Keita promised to move to implement
recommendations made by a previous ECOWAS delegation last month,
including that the government "reconsider" the results of
disputed March legislative elections that helped spark the
protests.
The violence over the past week has hardened the
opposition's calls for his resignation, although it has called
off a planned mass prayer in the heart of Bamako this Friday
that some feared would lead to fresh violence.