Mali massacre survivors say white mercenaries involved in killings

FILE PHOTO: Malian soldiers are pictured during a patrol with soldiers from the new Takuba force near Niger border in Dansongo Circle, Mali August 23, 2021. REUTERS/Paul Lorgerie File Photo/File Photo

BAMAKO (Reuters) - It was market day in the town of Moura in central Mali when Malian troops backed by white mercenaries descended in helicopters and opened fire on bewildered residents, according to witnesses' accounts.

Stall-owner Amadou saw the soldiers fan out across town on the morning of March 27, and ran home. They arrested him hours later and took him to a riverbank on the outskirts of town, where thousands of men sat with their hands tied.