2023-09-08 07:31:34
Sixty-four people, including 49 civilians and 15 soldiers, were killed Thursday September 7 in two attacks “terrorists” having targeted a river passenger transport boat and an army base in northern Mali. This sector has been subject to strong pressure for several weeks from armed groups fighting the central state.
The two separate attacks targeted “the Timbuktu boat” on the Niger River and “the position of the army” in Bamba, in the Gao region (north), with “a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed”according to a government press release which does not specify how many people died respectively on the ship and in the military base.
Attack claimed by a jihadist group
According to the government, these attacks were “claimed” by the GSIM, Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM or Jnim according to the Arabic acronym) – jihadist alliance affiliated with Al-Qaeda, on the Al-Zallaqa propaganda platform, according to SITE, an American NGO specializing in followed by radical groups.
The Malian government also announced in a press release that the assault on the boat had also “injuries as well as material damage”. The army’s response made it possible to “neutralize around fifty terrorists”, according to the same source. The government announced a three-day national mourning from Friday in a separate statement.
Boat targeted by rockets
The boat, from the Malian navigation company (Comanav, public), was attacked in the Gourma-Rharous sector, between Timbuktu and Gao, the Malian army had specified earlier on social networks. He was targeted by “at least three rockets fired against the engine”indicated Comanav, which with a few vessels provides an important connection over several hundred kilometers from Koulikoro, near Bamako, to Gao, passing through the large towns on the river.
The Timbuktu can carry around 300 passengers, said Company agents on condition of anonymity without commenting on the number of people actually on board. Soldiers were on board as an escort amid the security threat in the region, a military official said on condition of anonymity.
Blockade in Timbuktu
This attack came a few weeks after the GSIM announced, at the beginning of August, imposing a blockade on Timbuktu which coincides with the ongoing security reconfiguration around “the city of 333 saints” listed as a world heritage site.
The UN mission (Minusma), pushed from Mali by the ruling junta, has just left two camps near Timbuktu, Ber and Goundam, transferred to the Malian authorities. This takeover by the Malian state gave rise to battles with jihadists, but also clashes with ex-Tuareg rebels. These recent tensions raise fears for the survival of the 2015 peace agreement, concluded between predominantly Tuareg groups and the Malian state.
#dozen #dead #terrorist #attacks #north #country