Barcelona star Seydou Keita made an impassioned plea for the killing to stop back in his native Mali following his side's Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final win here Sunday.
The veteran Eagles' midfielder, who converted the winning spotkick in the 5-4 peanlty defeat of Gabon, told the post-match press conference: "We should be happy but we are sad.
"I'm afraid for my country, I want to say to my people what's happening is not normal, we're not used to that. We are all Malians, it's not normal that we kill ourselves.
"I have a message to the president of the Republic - do your maximum so the situation stops."
Keita was speaking out after the Malian army said it had killed 20 Tuareg rebels on Friday and Saturday in the northern city of Timbuktu.
The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) and other Tuareg rebels launched a fresh offensive in northern Mali on January 17.
The player added: "The people in the north of Mali, they've got to stop killing themselves. We are very, very sad about what's happening."
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