Ahmed Murad (Ouagadougou, Cairo)
The Malian army announced yesterday that it had taken control of the situation in the capital, Bamako, indicating that it had thwarted an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate a gendarmerie academy, in a rare attack witnessed by the capital. The army said in a statement posted on social media: “Early this morning, a group of terrorists attempted to infiltrate the Valade gendarmerie school,” stressing that “the situation is under control.”
The Ministry of Financial Security, for its part, referred to “terrorist attacks” targeting “sensitive points in the capital,” including the Gendarmerie School.
Later, a group linked to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted the military airport and the Malian gendarmerie training center in the center of the capital, Bamako. The Malian army said combing operations were underway, calling on residents to remain calm and avoid the area.
Explosions and gunfire were heard yesterday morning, and black smoke was seen rising from an area near the airport in the capital, Bamako, which is usually spared attacks in certain parts of the country. An airport official announced that “Bamako airport is temporarily closed due to the events,” without revealing how long the measure would last.
In statements to the Union, experts in African affairs warned of the danger of the development of the humanitarian and security situation in the Sahel region, and its role in creating a fertile environment for extremist movements and allowing them to expand further in a strategic and vital area of the African continent.
The Director of the African Center for Research and Strategic Studies (ACRIS), Dr. Ghada Fouad, explained that the countries of the region are currently experiencing difficult stages in confronting terrorism and extremist movements that are spreading in the West African region in general, especially the border triangle between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which prompted the three countries to form the “Sahel Countries Alliance” to collectively confront extremist attacks.
Fouad told Al-Ittihad that the lives of millions in these three countries have been affected by the escalation of confrontations and battles between the army forces and terrorist groups. According to the World Food Security Report, these countries are expected to face a “catastrophe.” The director of the African Center for Research stated that the confrontation with terrorist groups, including “Jihad for the Support of Islam and Muslims” and “ISIS,” led to the displacement of many residents in 2023, as extremists carry out large-scale killings, which spreads terror and prompts residents to flee, and thus the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance increased during this period.
Fouad criticized the lack of a new vision by international and UN institutions that takes into account the needs of peoples, and ignores the fact that punishing regimes is considered collective punishment of peoples and may lead to further deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in the Sahel region and the West African region in general, which provides a fertile environment for extremist movements that allows them to expand further with the absence of effective tools for national states that enable them to control their borders.
African affairs expert Rami Zahdi agrees with Dr. Fouad, explaining that the worsening security situation and unrest resulting from the increase in terrorist activities in the Sahel region in recent years has created a severe humanitarian crisis, especially in the border area between the three Sahel countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
In a statement to Al-Ittihad, Zahdi revealed that UN and international reports indicate that the region may witness more terrorist operations in the coming period, especially with the long transitional period that some of its countries are currently experiencing, and therefore the humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate significantly.
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