[2] The town lies 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Niono on the west side of the Fala de Molodo channel that forms part of the Office du Niger irrigation scheme.

On 8 September 2012, during the Northern Mali conflict, a group of Malian army soldiers arrested 17 Islamic preachers coming from Mauritania at a checkpoint near the village.

[4][5] On the evening of 8 September 2012, 17 unarmed Dawa Tablighi preachers from Mauritania arrived in Dogofry, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Diabaly, in a Toyota minibus, on their way to a religious conference in Bamako.

[4] Associated Press attributed responsibility for the executions to "rank-and-file soldiers [who] carried out the massacre of their own accord, ignoring not only the normal rules of engagement but also their own command structure.

"[4] Prior to its formal investigation in Mali, the International Criminal Court stated that, "There is reasonable basis to believe that the war crime of murder under Article 8(2)(c)(i) was committed by [Malian army] forces.