at least 15 soldiers and three civilians killed in three coordinated attacks

First modification: 07/28/2022 – 02:18

Mali is still mired in violence. At least 15 Malian soldiers and three civilians were killed on Wednesday July 27 in three coordinated attacks attributed to “terrorists”, bringing the number of attacks in the country to 11 in less than a week.

In Kalumba, near the border with Mauritania, “the death toll on the friendly side is twelve, including three civilians, from a road construction company,” according to a statement signed by Colonel Souleymane Dembélé, director of information and Army Public Relations.

In Sokolo, in the center of the country, the Army reported six dead soldiers and 25 wounded, five of them seriously. The Army claimed to have killed 48 attackers and “neutralized three terrorist vans 15 km from Sokolo with some 15 fighters and their equipment”.

A third attack took place overnight in Mopti (center), without causing any casualties, the same source said. The Army said it had “defeated” the attackers.

These attacks take place five days after the one in Kati, the heart of the Malian military apparatus, claimed by the Macina Katiba jihadists, affiliated with Al Qaeda. The suicide attack, carried out with two truck bombs, killed a Malian soldier and wounded six others, including a civilian. The day before, a series of almost simultaneous assaults attributed to the jihadists hit six different towns in Mali, in the Koulikoro regions (near Bamako), as well as in Segou and Mopti (center).

On Sunday, a new attack, “frustrated” according to the Malian army, also affected the National Guard camp in Sévaré.

It is the first time since 2012 that coordinated attacks of such magnitude have taken place, including some near the capital.

Fight with the terrorists

Mali, a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, has suffered two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021. The political crisis goes hand in hand with a serious security crisis that has been ongoing since the outbreak of independence insurgencies. and the bloody jihadist actions in the north in 2012.

Despite the deteriorating security situation, the junta has distanced itself from France and its partners, preferring to rely on Russia to try to stop the spread of jihadism.

In central Mali, fighting is fierce between foot soldiers of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, JNIM in Arabic) and regime forces, assisted by the Russian group of Wagner private security. Civilians, caught in a pincer movement, are paying a heavy price.

The Army, which announces high and unverifiable human casualties every week, has announced on several occasions that the jihadist group is “on the run”.

In Wednesday’s statement, he spoke of “desperate actions by terrorists, who clearly intend to carry out media maneuvers to hide the considerable losses they have suffered for several months.”

Preventive measures

But tension is rising across the country. On Tuesday, the Minister of Religious Affairs, Cults and Customs invited all denominations and religious associations to “sessions of prayer and blessing for peace and stability in Mali.”

On Wednesday, the governor of the Douentza region (center) prohibited the circulation of vehicles from 6 pm to 7 am (local and GMT) in the city of Douentza.

At the end of last week, the Mali airport management had announced a “reinforcement of control measures at access control posts” at Bamako airport, and “urged users to reduce their movements on the premises, except in cases of necessity.”

And the tension extends beyond the Malian borders. On Wednesday, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed the entire country in a “red zone”, that is, formally not recommended for travelers, due to the “risk of attacks and kidnappings”. Only the capital, Bamako, remains in the orange zone, that is, not recommended unless there is an imperative reason.

*With AFP; adapted from its original French version