Au moins 50 militaires maliens tués dans une attaque des indépendantistes et des jihadistes samedi
At least 50 soldiers died on Saturday in northern Mali during one of the deadliest attacks suffered by the army since the start of the conflict that has ravaged this West African country for about fifteen years.
The coalition of Tuareg separatists and jihadists ambushed an army convoy on Saturday as it left the strategic town of Anéfis in the north of the country to go to the major city of Gao.
"The provisional toll of the attack is very heavy. More than 50 soldiers killed. And at least 24 prisoners," a local elected official from the north close to the ruling junta told AFP.
This convoy was leaving the city of Anéfis, the scene in recent weeks of fierce fighting for its control.
In early July, a large-scale coordinated offensive by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and the separatists of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), resulted in the temporary capture of the city, encircling the military camp defended by the Malian Armed Forces and the Russian paramilitaries of Africa Corps.
"It's a heavy toll. Some of our men were simply executed," lamented a source within the Malian army, who added that investigations are underway to understand the tactical failures that led to such a setback. "We are currently trying to determine what could have truly made our men so vulnerable."
"My husband was killed in the fighting on Saturday. The government needs to tell us the truth. There are too many deaths," laments the wife of a soldier killed in the ambush.
- "No Russians killed" -
Russian paramilitaries supporting the Malian army had already arrived in Gao at the time of the attack and suffered no losses, according to sources consulted by AFP.
"No Russians were killed. The dead are in the ranks of the army and state militias," said a community leader in the Gao region.
"There was a problem with coordination between the Russians and the army. The Russians were in front. They arrived in Gao without losing a single man," confirmed a local official.
The attack was claimed by JNIM and the FLA separatists.
In a statement released Saturday, the army acknowledged that its convoy had "fallen into an ambush set by armed terrorist groups," without providing a casualty count.
Mali has been gripped by a deep security crisis since 2012, fueled in particular by violence perpetrated by groups affiliated with the jihadist organizations Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as by community-based criminal groups and Tuareg separatist movements. This is compounded by a severe economic crisis.
Since two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the country has been led by military men who came to power on the promise of restoring security and preserving its territorial integrity.
In August 2024, the Malian army and the Russian Wagner paramilitaries, who preceded the Africa Corps, suffered a major defeat in the town of Tinzaouatène (north), on the Algerian border. Separatists and jihadists claimed to have killed dozens of Russian paramilitaries and Malian soldiers in the fighting.
The army and Wagner had acknowledged significant losses, without providing a precise tally.
In September 2024, JNIM claimed responsibility for a double attack of rare magnitude against the military airport in Bamako, the capital, and against the gendarmerie school, which left more than 70 dead and 200 wounded, according to security sources.
In recent months, fighting has intensified in Mali since a major offensive by JNIM and FLA in late April across the country, during which the Minister of Defense was killed and the strategic city of Kidal was taken by this coalition.
The loss of Kidal is a blow to the junta that took power in Bamako in 2020 on the promise to restore the territorial integrity of Mali.
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