Bamako, July 24 (IANS): At least 26 people were killed late last week in an attack by armed terrorist groups at the village of Dembo in central Mali, according to local officials.

"These innocent people were killed by armed men who spread terror and violence in the fields where villagers were engaged in agricultural activities," a local official who requested anonymity told Xinhua news agency via telephone on Tuesday morning.

"It is yet another massacre that deepens our sorrow and reinforces the feeling that our populations are under constant threat from these armed terrorist groups," he added.

In recent months, attacks on civilians have increased in central Mali, Xinhua news agency reported.

Armed terrorist groups attacked the villages of Djiguibombo and Sokorokanda on July 1, resulting in 23 deaths, according to the Bandiagara governorate.

Since 2012, Mali has been engulfed in a deep, multifaceted crisis affecting security, politics, and the economy.

Independence insurgencies, jihadist incursions, and intercommunal violence have left thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced in the West African country.