At least 25 Malian soldiers are dead and more than 60 others missing after two assaults on bases in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. On Sept. 30, jihadist forces simultaneously targeted the Malian army base in Mondoro and the G5 Sahel force camp at Boulikessi. The G5 Sahel group includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, and receives logistical support from the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Malian officials say the insurgents used “heavy weapons” in the assaults, and that at least 15 militants were killed. Local reports indicate the militants were able to briefly hold the bases and capture large amounts of weapons and equipment. Mali has now launched a joint operation with Burkina Faso and French forces in the region to hunt down the militants.
No group has yet to claim the raids, but Malian authorities have blamed the Burkinabe jihadist group Ansaroul Islam, said to be an offshoot of the Qaeda-linked Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, or JNIM by its Arabic acronym). (LWJ, UN News, BBC News)
Photo: UN News
Burkina Faso: deadly ambush on mining company convoy
At least 37 people were killed and 60 wounded in an attack on a mining company convoy in Burkina Faso. Five buses carrying staff of Canadian firm Semafo were ambushed outside the eastern town of Boungou. A military escort vehicle was reportedly struck by an explosive device before gunmen opened fire. It is said to be the third deadliest attack on Semafo staff in 15 months. (BBC News)
Massacre of women in Burkina Faso
Suspected Islamist militants killed 35 civilians, 31 of them women, in an attack on the town of Arbinda, in northern Soum province Seven soldiers and 80 militants were also killed as the army repelled the assault. (BBC, Dec. 25)
More massacres in Burkina Faso
Presumed jihadists killed nearly 20 civilians in an attack Feb. 1 on the northern Burkina Faso village of Bani, Seno province. A security source said the attack came as a reprisal after jihadists told residents to leave the area a few days earlier. This latest attack comes a week after several similar attacks in the north of the country. On Jan. 25, an attack killed 39 civilians in the village of Silgadji, in the neighboring province of Soum. (AFP)
French forces battle jihadists in Mali
French soldiers killed more than 30 Islamist militants in Mali in three separate operations Feb. 6 and 7. In the Gourma region, soldiers of the French Barkhane force killed about 20 militants and destroyed several vehicles, while in the Liptako region, a stronghold of Islamic State, 10 more were killed, the army said. (Reuters)
Fulani herdsman massacred in Burkina Faso
Gunmen killed at least 43 people in attacks on two villages in northern Burkina Faso, the government said March 9. Armed men attacked Dinguila and Barga villages in Yatenga province, both inhabited by Fulani herdsman who have been targeted by local defense groups and the army for their alleged affiliation with jihadists. (France24)