At least 16 dead in central Mali ethnic clashes - government

At least 16 Fulani herders have been killed in suspected ethnic clashes in central Mali, the government and local sources said, underscoring the chronic instability blighting the West African nation ahead of elections next month.

Mali is expected to go to the polls at the end of July, but north of the capital Bamako has become a lawless scrubland used as a launch pad for jihadist attacks across West Africa that, coupled with local ethnic tensions, has made governing near impossible and the forthcoming elections difficult to manage.

Saturday's attack involved an attack on the village of Koumaga in the Mopti region, the government said.

"I confirm there were clashes between people from the same village (Koumaga), in the circle of Djenn - near Mopti). The army intervened to intervened and counted 16 dead for the moment," security spokesman Amadou Sangho said.

The government did not provide further details of the attack, but an organisation representing Fulani herders said on Sunday that close to 50 people were killed in Koumaga by Donzo hunters as part of ongoing clashes between the two groups that have long fought over land, grazing grounds and water rights.