Mali army says 80 fighters killed after earlier al-Qaeda linked attacks | Conflict News

An al-Qaeda affiliate earlier claimed accountability for ‘coordinated and high-quality assaults’ within the nation.

Mali’s armed forces have killed 80 fighters in response to a sequence of simultaneous and coordinated assaults on navy posts throughout the nation, in line with a video assertion launched by the navy.

“The enemy suffered vital losses in each location the place they engaged with the safety and defence forces,” Souleymane Dembele, the military’s spokesperson, mentioned in a particular bulletin broadcast on the armed forces’ tv channel, as visuals of fallen rebels, their weapons, motorbikes, and autos had been displayed.

Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) earlier claimed accountability for “coordinated and high-quality assaults”, saying it had taken management of three barracks and dozens of navy positions.

Mali’s armed forces mentioned the assaults passed off in seven cities within the central and western areas of the West African nation.

The incidents bore the hallmarks of different current operations by the group, which has carried out related assaults on navy positions in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Mali, ruled by a navy authorities since 2020, has for greater than a decade fought violent teams linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, whereas contending with an extended historical past of Tuareg-led rebellions within the north.

The assaults on Tuesday focused Diboli in western Mali close to the border with Senegal, and the close by cities of Kayes and Sandere. There have been additionally assaults in Nioro du Sahel and Gogoui, northwest of the capital Bamako close to the border with Mauritania, and in Molodo and Niono in central Mali, “all struck by shellfire”, the military’s assertion mentioned.

Residents and an area politician confirmed the assaults in at the very least 4 cities.

“We awakened in shock this morning. There’s gunfire, and from my home I can see smoke billowing in direction of the governor’s residence,” one resident within the metropolis of Kayes mentioned.

The particular person described the gunfire as “intense” whereas one other reported sheltering at dwelling whereas the assault raged on.

Elsewhere, an area political official wrote on Fb that “the area of Nioro awakened in shock” and that the cities of Nioro, Sandare and Gogui had been focused.