More Than 50 Dead in Attacks on Mali Villages 

BAMAKO - Militants in Mali have massacred more than 50 villagers near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The area has seen increasing violence from armed Islamists, and activists are calling on authorities to act.    

Militants attacked three villages in northern Mali simultaneously this past Sunday, leaving more than 50 civilians dead and several injured.    The neighboring villages of Karou, Ouatagouna, and Daoutegeft are in an area near the borders with Niger and Burkina Faso that has seen increasing, often deadly, violence the past few years.     Almahady Cissé is coordinator of the collective Songhoy Chaawara Batoo, a group of organizations representing the Songhoy people, who make up most of the inhabitants of the Gao region, where the attacks occurred.