According to the military-dominated government, two separate attacks have killed a total of 64 people – 49 civilians and 15 soldiers – in northern Mali. This Friday, September 8, a three-day period of national mourning began.
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A high number of victims. 64 people, including 49 civilians and 15 soldiers, died on Thursday, September 7, in two terrorist “attacks” directed against a passenger ship and a military base in northern Mali, where a three-day period of national mourning was declared. starting Friday, the military-dominated government announced.
The two attacks, carried out separately, targeted “the Timbuktu boat” on the Niger River and “the Army position” in Bamba, in the Gao region (north), with “a provisional balance of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed,” according to a government statement, which did not specify how many people died on the ship and at the base, respectively.
The Bamba attack was claimed by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM or Jnim by its acronym in Arabic), a jihadist alliance affiliated with Al-Qaeda, on the Al Zallaqa propaganda platform, according to SITE, a specialized US NGO. in following radical groups.
The two attacks were “claimed” by the GSIM, the government said in its statement, according to which the assault on the ship also caused “injuries and material damage.”
The Army’s response made it possible to “neutralize about 50 terrorists,” according to the same source.
The ship, belonging to the Malian state shipping company (Comanav), was attacked in the Gourma-Rharous sector, between Timbuktu and Gao, as previously indicated by the Malian Army on social networks.
Lockdown in Timbuktu
The boat was hit by “at least three rockets fired at the engine,” the Comanav, which, along with other boats, provides an important service covering several hundred kilometers between Koulikoro, near Bamako, and Gao, told AFP. passing through the main cities of the river.
The boat, which can carry about 300 passengers, was hit, Comanav officials added on condition of anonymity, without specifying how many people were actually on board.
This attack came a few weeks after the GSIM announced in early August that it was imposing a blockade on Timbuktu, coinciding with the ongoing security reconfiguration around the World Heritage City of 333 Saints.
The UN mission (Minusma), expelled from Mali by the junta in power since 2020, has just left two camps near Timbuktu, Ber and Goundam, in the hands of the Malian authorities. This takeover by the Malian state has led to fighting with jihadists, as well as clashes with former Tuareg rebels.
The predominantly Tuareg groups signed a peace agreement with the Malian government in 2015, while the jihadists continued their hostilities. The violence spread to central Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, leaving thousands dead.
with AFP
This article was adapted from its original in French
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