Eight young people were shot and three killed when an unidentified gunman opened fire outside a Christian radio station in Mali on 17 December.
The motive for the attack on the Tahanint radio station in Timbuktu is unknown, but witnesses described the gunman as a turbaned Tuareg. Tahanint, which means ‘mercy’ in the local dialect, had just finished broadcasting for the day when the eight were shot outside the building. The radio station is closely linked with a local Baptist church and evangelical mission.
Christians, a minority in Mali, have paid a heavy price since jihadists took over northern Mali in 2012. For most of the year armed Islamist groups ruled the region, banning the practice of other religions and desecrating and looting churches and other places of worship. Thousands, including many Christians, fled and found refuge in the south, or in neighbouring countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso.
