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Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Mali army base and airport in Timbuktu targeted in attack
Representative Image (AI-generated) BAMAKO: A Malian army base came under attack on Monday and shells were fired at the airport in the northern city of Timbuktu where heavy gunfire was heard, the army, local officials and residents said. Junta-ruled Mali has since 2012 faced attacks from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs. For several months in 2012, jihadists took control of the fabled desert city of Timbuktu. The army's general staff said in a statement that it had "thwarted an attempt by terrorist fighters to infiltrate the Timbuktu camp" at around 10.00 am (local and GMT). It added that 13 attackers were "neutralised", without saying if there had been other victims. "The search is under way throughout the city of Timbuktu," it added. The attackers tried to force their way into the military camp and shells were launched at the airport, which is two kilometres (just over a mile) from the city, the city governor's office said. The situation is "under control", it added on social media. No information on possible military or civilian victims was immediately available. Later in the day, a security source said that operations in the camp were "already over" and that the attackers were "everywhere in the city". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo "They did not raid the airport because the Russians are there. But they launched shells. It's hot everywhere," the source added. A local official said the "terrorists" arrived in Timbuktu "with a vehicle packed with explosives". "The vehicle exploded near the (military) camp," the official said. UN staff were instructed in a message "to take shelter" and "stay away from windows" due to "shooting in the city of Timbuktu". A resident reported having heard "heavy gunfire in the city" which "seems to come from the side of the (military) camp". Under fire: A local journalist speaking by telephone said "the city is under fire". "This morning our city was attacked by terrorist groups. Shots were heard near the military camp and the airport. We all returned home," he said. The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists for several months in 2012. The jihadists who swept into the city considered the shrines idolatrous and destroyed them with pickaxes and bulldozers. The ancient city was peacefully retaken in late January 2013 with the support of French military forces under Operation Serval, deployed to halt the jihadists' advance in Mali. Since seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali's military rulers have broken the country's traditional ties with its former colonial power France and moved closer to Russia. Jihadist groups and the Malian army and its allies from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians. In September, jihadists attacked a police academy and stormed the military airport in Bamako, the first attack in the Malian capital since 2016. The attacks have undermined the junta's claims that its new foreign partnerships and increased military effort have turned the tide against the jihadists.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Insurgents overrun Mali base, killing dozens of soldiers, sources say
BAMAKO - An Al Qaeda-linked rebel group active in West Africa's Sahel region has claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in Mali on Sunday that two sources said had killed more than 30 soldiers. More than 400 soldiers have reportedly been killed by insurgents since the start of May in bases and towns in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, an unstable region prone to coups. The jihadist group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), said in a statement on Sunday that it had seized the base in Boulkessi in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. The Malian army said it had been forced to pull back. "Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation," its statement said, without giving any casualty numbers. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about the toll, but two security sources said more than 30 soldiers had been killed. A municipal source at Mondoro, near the base, said the insurgents "cleared the camp" and that there were many dead. Videos shared online showed dozens of insurgents overrunning the base. One showed militants stepping on the bodies of soldiers who had fallen between sandbags. Reuters could not immediately authenticate the videos. WIDENING INSECURITY JNIM has claimed responsibility for a host of recent attacks in the region. On May 24, it said it had attacked a base in Dioura, central Mali, killing 40 soldiers. Last Friday, it said it had seized a base in Sirakorola in southwestern Mali, although the army said it had repelled the attack. It did not provide a toll for that incident either. In neighbouring Burkina Faso, JNIM claimed attacks on military positions and the town of Djibo in mid-May in which it said it had killed 200 soldiers. And in Niger, more than 100 soldiers were killed in two attacks in the Tahoua region on May 24 and the Dosso region on May 26, security sources said. Neither Burkina Faso nor Niger has published an official death toll. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all ruled by juntas that seized power between 2020 and 2023, citing the inability of civilian governments to stamp out jihadist insurgencies. All have cut ties with Western nations and turned to Russia for military support, but are still struggling to contain violence that has displaced millions. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Arab News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
At least 18 killed in airstrike on market in northern Mali, separatist group says
BAMAKO: At least 18 people have been killed in an airstrike in northern Mali, a separatist group said. The army said it had mounted an attack targeting armed militants. The Collective for the Defense of the Rights of the Azawad People, which is part of a Tuareg separatist coalition, said Monday the Malian army bombed a market 50 km (30 miles) north of Lerneb, in the Timbuktu region. Seven people were also injured in the strike on Sunday, the group said in a statement, denouncing a 'barbaric act from another age' and a 'flagrant human rights violation.' Mali's army said Monday in a statement on X it carried out air strikes on a 'refuge' in the same area cited by the separatist group, killing 11 'terrorists.' Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead. Since seizing power in 2021, Col. Assimi Goita has struggled to curb violence in central and northern Mali, while the army has been accused of targeting civilians. Last month, the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, the coalition of Tuareg separatist groups, accused the Malian army and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group of 'coldly executing' at least 24 people in northern Mali. Last year, the rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report the army and Russian mercenaries killed at least 32 civilians, including seven in a drone strike, kidnapped four others, and burned at least 100 homes in towns and villages in central and northern Mali between May and December.
Jordan Times
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Mali rebels claim to down army helicopter with drone
BAMAKO — Mali's Front for the Liberation of Azawad [FLA] rebel group told AFP Wednesday its fighters used a drone to take out an army helicopter in the Kidal region, though the military did not confirm the claim. Army general staff said the military had intercepted a "terrorist" drone after the FLA said the mainly Tuareg group's fighters had "brought down a Malian army helicopter in Tessalit" in the country's northeast late could not independently confirm the claim by FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud a statement issued Tuesday evening, the Malian army general staff said it informed "the public that on Tuesday, February 11... a terrorist drone was intercepted and recovered in the airport area of Tessalit in the Kidal region."The military added the drone had been "trying to observe a FAMA [Malian Armed Forces] helicopter in transit on the helipad. The helicopter was refuelled, took off and returned to its base."The FLA spokesman told AFP the army's statement was false, adding: "We did shoot down the army helicopter with our drones."Defeated in Kidal by an army enjoying Russian mercenary support in November 2023, the rebels retreated further north towards the Algerian border, from where they carried out an attack last July which killed dozens of Malian soldiers and fighters from Russian paramilitary group Wagner.A Ukrainian military intelligence official, Andriy Yusov, implied thereafter that Kyiv had provided the rebels with information to aid their attack. Ukraine later denied that it provided intelligence, as well as reports that it had supplied rebels with separatist FLA, which claimed responsibility for the July attack, was created late last year in a merger of several predominantly Tuareg groups seeking territory in northern Mali. Since coming to power, Mali's ruling military junta has ended the country's long-standing alliance with France and European partners, instead turning militarily and politically towards Russia.
Arab News
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
25 civilians killed in an attack by gunmen in Mali
BAMAKO: Gunmen have attacked a convoy of vehicles escorted by Mali's army, killing 25 civilians mostly gold miners, a military spokesman said Sunday. The attack took place Friday about 30 kilometers from Gao, the largest city in the country's northeast where armed groups hostile to the ruling junta operate. It was the deadliest attack on civilians this year. The assailants targeted a convoy of some 60 vehicles escorted by the army, military spokesman Col. Maj. Souleymane Dembele said. He said soldiers assisted the victims and transferred 13 wounded to the Gao hospital. He said four of the attackers were wounded and declined to comment on any army casualties. 'My sister survived the attack, but she's in a state of mental shock. She saw a lot of dead and wounded, a whole scene of horror. It was the first time she had seen dead people,' said a Gao resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for his own safety. Several groups operate in the area, including Daesh, the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM, and others from the Azawad region hostile to Mali's military regime. Mali has been in a crisis for more than 10 years. The military seized power in 2020, capitalizing on the unpopularity of the former democratically elected government, but the new rulers have struggled with deadly militant attacks.
