BAMAKO, Oct 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from attacks on two army bases in central Mali has risen to 38 from 25, defence minister Dahirou Dembélé said on state television.
The double attack, carried out by unidentified assailants, was among the deadliest suffered by Malian forces this year as they struggle to contain militant groups with links to al Qaeda or Islamic State that have set up operations in parts of Mali from where they launch attacks across the Sahel.
Security forces sent to the Boulkessi and Mondoro near the border with Burkina Faso were able to reoccupy one of the camps after taking fire from insurgents, according to a government statement.
The clash left “25 dead, 4 wounded … about 60 people missing and heavy equipment losses,” according to a preliminary report, the government said.
Separatists and al Qaeda-linked insurgents often target military outposts in the West African nation. A jihadist insurgency spread into the north and center of Mali in 2012, and foreign troops and the government have been unable to fully regain control over some regions of the landlocked West African country.
Nearly 40 people were killed in June when gunmen stormed two villages in the country’s volatile Mopti region, and 95 people died after armed men opened fire and burned several homes in Dogon village in the same month. More than 20 soldiers were killed in a raid on an army camp in Dioura in central Mali in March. — NNN-AGENCIES
