Mali investigates soldiers suspected of being involved in war crimes | War Stories

Five soldiers, including three serving soldiers, have been identified as suspects in last week’s attacks.

Malian government officials say they are looking for soldiers who are suspected of being involved in the attack simultaneous attacks in military areas across the country last week, claimed by al-Qaeda and separatists.

The public prosecutor at the military court near the capital of Bamako, said on Friday in his statement on Friday that 5 people who are suspected of being suspected have been identified, including three soldiers who were serving their duty, one retired and another soldier who was killed in the battle near the Bamako military base.

“The first arrests have been successfully made, and the rest of the perpetrators, accomplices, and accomplices are being sought urgently,” he said.

The attack that took place in the morning of April 25 struck the heart of the West African country’s military government, which took power after insurgents in 2020 and 2021.

The defense minister was killed and Russian troops supporting the government were driven from the northern town of Kidal, which al-Qaeda has linked to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg separatists the Liberation Front for Azawad (FLA). now authority.

The violence has fueled fighting across much of Mali’s desert, raising hopes of major gains by armed groups that have shown a willingness to attack neighboring countries.

JNIM has called on the people of Mali to attack the government and change Islamic law. The group has also vowed to lay siege to Bamako, and on Friday security sources told Reuters that it had. set up a social network around the city of four million.

Army Chief Assimi Goita said in a televised speech on Tuesday that the situation had improved and promised to “disrupt” the armed groups responsible for the violence.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank, said the “big test” will be whether the government can capture major cities in the north, such as Timbuktu and Gao.

“If they also fall, then anything can happen,” Laessing told Al Jazeera.