Two police officers, including Issiaka Tounkara, Divisional Commissioner of the Niono Police, were killed by a lynch mob in Niono, 270 km north from Bamako, in apparent retaliation for an assault on a civilian by their colleague.
By Mohamed Dagnoko
“Our commissioner was killed by demonstrators who accused him of abuses. He was back after a two-week absence. His departure was requested by the population, who could not bear his return,” said an official from the Niono police station, shortly after Thursday evening’s tragedy.
More specifically, General Salif Traoré, Minister of Security, said: “Divisional Commissioner Issiaka Tounkara, with a head injury, was caught and killed by the demonstrators.”
It all started with a spontaneous march by the population to the police station to demand that sanctions be imposed on an officer accused of brutalizing a citizen.
Having difficulty controlling the angry crowd, the police fired shots that killed one person and wounded several others among the demonstrators.
In retaliation, the latter lynched the police chief and his agent before setting fire to several vehicles parked in the police station yard.
According to residents of Niono, for the past week, there has been acute tension between the police and the local population.
However, some people have shown outrage on social media after watching videos of the killing of the hapless police commissioner.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing can explain why someone would attack a law enforcement officer to the point of taking his life,” one social media user argued.
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