BAMAKO – A jihadist attack in the Malian capital targeting a military police training camp and a military airport left more than 70 dead and 200 wounded, security sources said yesterday. A security source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that 77 people had been killed and 255 wounded in Tuesday’s attacks in Bamako. An authenticated confidential official document put the toll at around 100, naming 81 victims.

yesterday’s edition of Le Soir daily reported that the funerals of around 50 military police students would take place on the same day. Mali’s military-led authorities have so far not released a precise death toll from the attacks, claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group JNIM.

The operation was the first of its kind in years, and dealt a forceful blow to the ruling junta, experts say.

The Malian capital is normally spared the sort of attacks that occur almost daily in some parts of the West African country.

The general staff admitted late Tuesday that “some human lives were lost”, notably personnel at the military police centre.
JNIM claimed that a few dozen of its fighters had killed and wounded “hundreds” from the opposing ranks, including members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner. The attack came a day after junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked a year since the creation of their breakaway grouping, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trio have been under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, and in January said they were breaking ties with regional bloc ECOWAS.  – Nampa/AFP