Officials and activists in Mali say gunmen have killed more than 40 Tuareg civilians in the south-east of the country.

They say the attackers - who were riding motorbikes - shot people dead in several villages in the Ménaka region near the border with Niger.

It is not known who carried out the shootings, but earlier this year hundreds of people were killed in ethnic violence between members of Mali's Tuareg and Fulani communities.