Note: Al Jazeera is withholding some details of interviewees, such as surnames, to protect their identities.Douankara, Mauritania – One evening in late March, 75-year-old Moctar gathered with his family and friends in Sondaje, a village in northern Mali, to plan their escape. For months, homes had been raided by rival gun-toting warring groups who accused various villagers of collaborating with their enemies. Two of Moctar’s cousins were killed in one such attack. Then one group issued an ultimatum.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“The men came on about 30 motorbikes, observed the evening prayers with us in the mosque and then told us we had 72 hours to leave the village,” Moctar told Al Jazeera in a hoarse and laboured voice. They had no choice but to run that night, trying to avoid daytime patrols.“We saw terrible things,” Moctar continued, speaking in Tamasheq. “People were decapitated and their heads put on their chests. People were so scared. The fear in their eyes made us even more scared.”Moctar’s family is one of thousands who have recently fled over the border into Mauritania, traumatised by the violence and abuse they witnessed. Thousands have fled to Douankara and the surrounding area.Mali is at the heart of spiralling violence in the West African Sah …
