Dakar (dpa) – About 100 Tuaregs have been executed in northern Mali, French broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported Monday. The Tuaregs were executed in the northern town of Aguelhok during a recent offensive between the government and Tuareg fighters, according to French Cooperation Minister Henri de Raincourt, who spoke to RFI after returning from Mali. “We're talking about one hundred people who were captured and executed in cold blood,” de Raincourt said. “The execution method was similar to those used by al-Qaeda … some had their throats cut, others were killed by shots to the head … barbaric methods,” he said. According to humanitarian agencies, about 50,000 Tuaregs have been displaced following clashes between the government and Tuareg fighters belonging to the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a separatist group. The MNLA has been bolstered by the return of weapons and Tuareg fighters from Libya, many of whom were members of Libya's army under Muammar Gaddafi. De Raincourt told RFI that the MNLA only represents a small percentage of northern Mali's population. “There are other groups: Berbers, Arabs, other ethnic groups,” he said. “We feel that the majority of the (Tuareg) population does not support the MNLA movement.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/HnLor Tags: Al Qaeda, Execution, Mali, Tuaregs Section: Human Rights, Latest News, West Africa