“39 people were killed in an attack by gunmen in southwestern Pakistan,” a government official said.
“We have confirmed that 39 people were killed in several coordinated attacks carried out by Baloch Liberation Army terrorists,” said a spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government.
In Mali, a spokesman for a coalition of Tuareg-led pro-independence groups said drone strikes killed 21 civilians, including 11 children, in a village in the north of the country near the border with Algeria.
The Strategic Framework for the Defence of the People of Azawad, a Tuareg-led group fighting for independence in northern Mali, said the raids targeted a pharmacy, followed by other raids targeting civilians who had gathered to view the initial damage.
The statement, signed by coalition spokesman Mohammed al-Mawloud Ramadan, said, “The provisional death toll from these criminal strikes is 21 civilian deaths, including 11 children and the pharmacy manager, in addition to dozens of wounded and massive material damage.”
According to the Associated Press, he added: “The General Staff of the Armed Forces confirmed that air strikes were launched in the village of Tinzaoutine on the morning of August 25, 2024, and these precise strikes targeted terrorists.”
The strikes come weeks after the Malian army and mercenaries from the Russian private company Wagner were defeated by Tuareg rebels and fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) group. The attack on the village of Tinzaoutine is the deadliest and most deadly drone strike on civilians since the collapse of a peace deal between the ruling military council and armed groups supporting the independence of northern Mali.
Last updated: August 26, 2024 – 13:03
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2024-08-27 16:02:30