<p>Suspected jihadists killed at least 30 civilians in an attack on a passenger vehicle in central Mali's volatile Mopti, local officials said Saturday.</p>.<p>"The passengers were sprayed with bullets and the vehicle was torched," during an attack by "terrorists" near the town of Bandiagara on Friday, the officials told AFP.</p>.<p>"The state has sent security forces to the scene," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>.<p>An elected official in Bandiagara confirmed the death toll, saying the victims included women and children.</p>.<p>The attack has not been claimed by any of the numerous armed groups active in the West African country.</p>.<p>Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that first erupted in the north in 2012 and has since claimed thousands of military and civilian lives.</p>.<p>Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed central Mali and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.</p>.<p>Central Mali has become one of the most violent hotspots of the Sahel-wide conflict, where ethnic killings and attacks on government forces are frequent.</p>.<p>A military coup last year, brought about after mass protest against the ongoing violence, has failed to stem the bloodshed.</p>
<p>Suspected jihadists killed at least 30 civilians in an attack on a passenger vehicle in central Mali's volatile Mopti, local officials said Saturday.</p>.<p>"The passengers were sprayed with bullets and the vehicle was torched," during an attack by "terrorists" near the town of Bandiagara on Friday, the officials told AFP.</p>.<p>"The state has sent security forces to the scene," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p>.<p>An elected official in Bandiagara confirmed the death toll, saying the victims included women and children.</p>.<p>The attack has not been claimed by any of the numerous armed groups active in the West African country.</p>.<p>Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that first erupted in the north in 2012 and has since claimed thousands of military and civilian lives.</p>.<p>Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed central Mali and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.</p>.<p>Central Mali has become one of the most violent hotspots of the Sahel-wide conflict, where ethnic killings and attacks on government forces are frequent.</p>.<p>A military coup last year, brought about after mass protest against the ongoing violence, has failed to stem the bloodshed.</p>