ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal | Armed men rounded up about 20 villagers and sliced off their left ears with machetes before releasing them, villagers and officials said Thursday.</p><p>Wednesday&#8217;s attack was apparently a warning to villagers to keep them from trying to harvest lucrative cashew nuts, victims said. The nuts are harvested by villagers, bandits and rebel fighters.</p><p>Victims said the assailants claimed to be rebel fighters with the Movement of Democratic Forces, which has waged a low-level insurgency against the government since 1983.</p><p>But a spokesman for the rebels, Antoine Diamacoune, denied involvement by the group.</p><p>A victim, Malang Sane, said he and his companions had gone to harvest nuts when they were set upon by about 20 men. &#8220;They kept us bound up &#8230; then one of them used a machete to cut off our left ears,&#8221; Sane said.</p><p>He said they were attacked near the village of Tampe about 12 miles southeast of the regional capital, Ziguinchor.</p><p>Dominique Mendy, who also lost an ear, said the assailants warned the villagers they would put their lives at risk if they tried to return to harvest nuts.