Mali Tuaregs killed in 'jihadist revenge' attacks

Tuaregs are historically nomadic Berber people living in Mali and other neighbouring countries

More than 40 members of the Tuareg community have been killed in two separate attacks by suspected jihadists in north-eastern Mali, officials say.

The attacks happened in the remote Menaka region on Thursday and Friday.

They are believed to have been carried out in revenge after Tuareg attacks on jihadist bases in recent weeks.

Much of north-eastern Mali is lawless despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and Tuareg rebels and the presence of an international force.

Tuaregs - historically nomadic Berber people - seized parts of the region, including the historic city of Timbuktu, in 2012.

But the area was later taken over by Islamist fighters linked to al-Qaeda, until they were removed in a French-led military operation in 2013.

Mali has seen four uprisings since it won independence from France in 1960.

Tuareg and Arab groups in the north-east - an area locals call Azawad - have said they are being ignored by the more prosperous south.