Mass grave found in central Mali, new Amnesty report says

DAKAR, Senegal – Amnesty International says a mass grave has been discovered in central Mali days after arrests by the military and as attacks by jihadists increase in the West African region.

The international human rights group says in a new report that residents in Dogo village identified six bodies found in a mass grave as people who had been arrested. The group says the region's security situation has reached a crisis point.

Amnesty International calls on Malian authorities to investigate reports of extrajudicial killings of civilians and enforced disappearances and bring perpetrators to justice.

Mali's military says it respects human rights.

Amnesty also says at least 65 people, including children, have been killed by explosives since January as jihadist groups step up attacks on civilians in the central Mopti and Segou regions.