Latest news with #Malian
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mali army camp and airport in Timbuktu targeted in attack
Attackers targeted a Malian army base on Monday and fired shells at the airport in the northern city of Timbuktu where heavy gunfire was heard, security and local officials and residents said. Junta-ruled Mali has been gripped since 2012 by violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as community and criminal groups. 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. "We are dealing with terrorists attacking Timbuktu. We are fighting back," a military source told AFP. "The camp in the city centre has been attacked," the source added. According to a security source, the attackers "are everywhere in the city" and operations in the army camp "are already over". "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". 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 fabled desert 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. lar-str-mk-sd-els/lp/kjm/cw
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- General
- Yahoo
Al-Qaeda linked group says it carried out huge attack on Mali's army
An al-Qaeda linked group says it carried out a major attack on the Malian town of Boulikessi, and seized control of an army base. More than 30 soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack, according to sources quoted by the Reuters news agency, however that figure has not been confirmed by the authorities. On Monday the same group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), says it targeted the military in the historic city of Timbuktu, with residents reporting hearing gunfire and explosions. In a statement responding to Sunday's attack, Mali's army said it "reacted vigorously", before "withdrawing" - suggesting a tactical retreat. "Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation," the statement added. An unnamed local source told Reuters that JNIM had left many casualties and "cleared the camp". The attacks, the latest sign of collapsing security in Mali and the wider Sahel region, came after the United States Africa Command warned about growing efforts by various different Islamist militant groups which operate in the Sahel to gain access to West Africa's coastline. During a press conference on Friday, the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), Gen Michael Langley, described recent attacks in Nigeria, the wider Sahel, and the Lake Chad Basin as deeply troubling, warning that the groups' access to the coast would significantly boost their capacity for smuggling and arms trafficking. It is thought that more than 400 soldiers have been killed by militants since the beginning of last month in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Reuters reports. Additional reporting by Simon Ponsford. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to form joint force to fight jihadists The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined 'I thought I would die' - freed captive tells BBC of life in West African jihadist base Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
France 24
20 minutes ago
- Politics
- France 24
Mali army camp and airport in Timbuktu targeted in attack
Junta-ruled Mali has been gripped since 2012 by violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as community and criminal groups. 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. "We are dealing with terrorists attacking Timbuktu. We are fighting back," a military source told AFP. "The camp in the city centre has been attacked," the source added. According to a security source, the attackers "are everywhere in the city" and operations in the army camp "are already over". "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". 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 fabled desert 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.
LeMonde
30 minutes ago
- LeMonde
French prosecutors investigate terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbor
French prosecutors on Monday, June 2, were probing a terror motive after a man who had posted racist videos shot dead his Tunisian neighbor and badly wounded a Turkish citizen in the south of the country. The shooting late Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens in the Var region comes after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims. The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion. But French national anti-terror prosecutors (PNAT) announced Monday that they would be taking over the investigation. The suspected killer, a 53-year-old who is French, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police. He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. The Tunisian man killed, believed to be 35 years old, was shot five times. The Turkish citizen, 25, was wounded in the hand and hospitalized, the prosecutor said. A sports shooting enthusiast, the suspect "posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," he added. The PNAT prosecutors said Monday that they had opened an investigation into a "terrorist plot" motivated by the race or religion of the victims. "The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer," said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO. "This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months," it said, denouncing a "poisonous climate" in the country including the "trivialization of racist rhetoric". Aboubakar Cissé of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25. A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticized for never traveling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Al-Qaeda linked group says it carried out huge attack on Mali's army
An al-Qaeda linked group says it carried out a major attack on the Malian town of Boulikessi, and seized control of an army base. More than 30 soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack, according to sources quoted by the Reuters news agency, however that figure has not been confirmed by the authorities. On Monday the same group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), says it targeted the military in the historic city of Timbuktu. In a statement responding to Sunday's attack, Mali's army said it "reacted vigorously", before "withdrawing" - suggesting a tactical retreat. "Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation," the statement added. An unnamed local source told Reuters that JNIM had left many casualties and "cleared the camp". The attacks, the latest sign of collapsing security in Mali and the wider Sahel region, came after the United States Africa Command warned about growing efforts by various different Islamist militant groups which operate in the Sahel to gain access to West Africa's coastline. During a press conference on Friday, the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), Gen Michael Langley, described recent attacks in Nigeria, the wider Sahel, and the Lake Chad Basin as deeply troubling, warning that the groups' access to the coast would significantly boost their capacity for smuggling and arms trafficking. It is thought that more than 400 soldiers have been killed by militants since the beginning of last month in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Reuters reports. Additional reporting by Simon Ponsford. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to form joint force to fight jihadists The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined 'I thought I would die' - freed captive tells BBC of life in West African jihadist base Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
