Mali’s army says 80 militants killed after coordinated attacks on its posts

Mali’s armed forces have killed 80 militants in response to a series of simultaneous and coordinated attacks on military posts across the country, according to a video statement released by the army on Tuesday.

"The enemy suffered significant losses in every location where they engaged with the security and defence forces," Souleymane Dembele, the army's spokesperson, said in a special bulletin broadcast on the armed forces' television channel, as visuals of fallen insurgents, their weapons, motorbikes and vehicles were displayed.

Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) earlier claimed responsibility for "coordinated and high-quality attacks", saying it had taken control of over three barracks and dozens of military positions.

Mali's armed forces said the attacks took place in seven towns in the central and western regions of the West African country.

The incidents bore the hallmarks of other recent operations by the militants, who have conducted similar assaults on military positions in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Mali, governed by a military junta since 2020, has for more than a decade fought insurgent groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, while contending with a longer history of Tuareg-led rebellions in the north.

The attacks on Tuesday targeted:

• Diboli in western Mali, near the border with Senegal;
• the nearby towns of Kayes and Sandere;
• Nioro du Sahel and Gogoui, northwest of the capital Bamako, near the border with Mauritania; and
• Molodo and Niono in central Mali.

All were struck by shellfire, the army's statement said.

Reuters