Armed men have killed at least 30 villagers in Mali in simultaneous attacks on several villages in the centre of the country, local officials said on Friday. The attacks took place on Wednesday in the Bankass region, but were not immediately confirmed because of the difficulty in accessing the area. Central Mali has become one of the flashpoints of the country's conflict, with regular jihadist attacks on military targets and also intercommunal fighting between ethnic groups. sd-lal/pma/txw