AL QAEDA-LINKED GROUP KILLED AT LEAST 12 TRUCK DRIVERS IN MALI, HRW SAYS. (PHOTO).

 Al Qaeda-linked group killed at least 12 truck drivers in Mali, HRW says

Islamist militants from an al Qaeda-linked group killed 10 long-haul truck drivers and two ​teenage apprentices who were travelling through Mali's western ‌Kayes region in late January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a military-escorted fuel convoy ​of at least 40 trucks, the HRW ​report said.

JNIM, which mainly operates in Mali ⁠and Burkina Faso, has emerged as the region's ​strongest militant group. It aims to impose Islamic rule ​across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa.

Malian military authorities have turned to armed escorts to ease ​a fuel supply blockade on the landlocked country imposed ​by the insurgents.

Witnesses told HRW the convoy, which was supposed ‌to ⁠supply fuel to the Kayes region, had left Senegal's capital Dakar on January 27 and crossed Mali's border the next day.

JNIM fighters captured several drivers ​who abandoned their ​trucks when ⁠the attackers opened fire, later executing 12 while releasing others, the HRW said.

Six ​drivers have been missing since the ​attack, ⁠the report said.

Mali's truck drivers union told Reuters last month that 15 drivers were captured and executed on ⁠the ​spot during the attack.