In November, the Islamists suspected murder of members of a Tuareg Malian army general's family led to an ethnic conflict between MNLA Tuareg and Islamists dominated Fulani. The situation escalated in February 2014, when 30-35 Tuareg merchants were massacred at the hands of Fulani Islamists. Reprisal attacks targeting Fulani Islamists resumed into an armed confrontation that killed a MNLA member.