Mali Islamists take strategic town of Douentza.

 

 

Militant Islamists in northern Mali are accused of committing war crimes

Militant Islamist rebels have seized the strategic central Malian town of Douentza, extending the area they control in the north of the country.

Witnesses said fighters of the Movement for Unity and Jihad group took the town after a brief stand-off with the local self-defence militia.

The move brings the militants closer to the government-held south-west.
The militants overran all of northern Mali after a military coup threw the country into turmoil in March.
Residents of Douentza, about 800km (500 miles) north-east of the capital Bamako, said a convoy of pick-up vehicles carrying bearded men entered the town early on Saturday.

Islamist leader Oumar Ould Hamaha told the Associated Press news agency that the attackers had encircled the town and asked the local militiamen to surrender.
"They tried to make phone calls to ask for reinforcements, but when they saw that no-one was coming to help them they laid down their arms," he said.
Residents said some of the militia's members had fled, while others were now were being held by the Islamists.