Bamako - More than 100 people, many of them children, have been killed in an attack on a village in central Mali, a military spokesman said.
On Saturday morning, gunmen stormed Ogossagou Peulh village, located in the country's Mopti region. Pregnant women, young children and the elderly were among the dead, military spokesman Diaran Kone said.
"The count of bodies gives a provisional record of 115 deaths," Kone told dpa late Saturday.
The government has sent troops to the village to secure the region, he added. The identity of the gunmen or the group responsible is not known.
"The death toll is gruesome. All were civilians, many were injured and a number of homes were burned," said government spokesman Amadou Koita, without giving exact figures of those killed.
There were also 410 incidents of arson, with 84 granaries set alight, Koita added.
The office of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said 134 people had reportedly been killed and dozens injured. The secretary general expressed shock and outrage and urged Malian authorities to "redouble their efforts to bring back peace and stability to central Mali."
Mali has experienced sporadic attacks by armed groups since a 2012 coup that led to separatist rebel groups and al-Qaeda associated groups gaining a foothold in the country's restive north.
The United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force to the country in 2013.