An al-Qaeda linked group says it carried out a serious assault on the Malian city of Boulikessi, and seized management of a military base.
Greater than 30 troopers had been killed in Sunday’s assault, in accordance with sources quoted by the Reuters information company, nonetheless that determine has not been confirmed by the authorities.
On Monday the identical group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), says it focused the navy within the historic metropolis of Timbuktu, with residents reporting listening to gunfire and explosions.
In a press release responding to Sunday’s assault, Mali’s military mentioned it “reacted vigorously”, earlier than “withdrawing” – suggesting a tactical retreat.
“Many males fought, some till their final breath, to defend the Malian nation,” the assertion added.
An unnamed native supply informed Reuters that JNIM had left many casualties and “cleared the camp”.
The assaults, the most recent signal of collapsing safety in Mali and the broader Sahel area, got here after america Africa Command warned about rising efforts by varied completely different Islamist militant teams which function within the Sahel to realize entry to West Africa’s shoreline.
Throughout a press convention on Friday, the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), Gen Michael Langley, described current assaults in Nigeria, the broader Sahel, and the Lake Chad Basin as deeply troubling, warning that the teams’ entry to the coast would considerably enhance their capability for smuggling and arms trafficking.
It’s thought that greater than 400 troopers have been killed by militants because the starting of final month in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Reuters studies.
Further reporting by Simon Ponsford.
