Terrorists killed at least 30 people in an attack in central Mali Military Issues

Multiple sources tell Reuters and AFP that al-Qaeda-linked militants hit two villages in Mopti province on Wednesday.

Dozens of people have been killed in attacks allegedly carried out by al-Qaeda-linked militants in central Mali. a common attack at the end of last month.

According to local sources, security and management who spoke to the AFP news agency on Thursday, the attack on the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in Mopti province killed at least 30 people the previous day. Three sources – including an aid worker, a diplomat and a security source – separately told the Reuters news agency that the assailants hit two unnamed areas in Mopti, killing at least 50 people on Wednesday.

The latest attacks come a day after armed militants attacked the Kenieroba Central PrisonA recently constructed facility about 60km (37 miles) southwest of Bamako, which houses 2,500 inmates, including at least 72 inmates who the Malian government considers “valuable”.

Mali has been rocked by insurgency since April 25 and 26, when the al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) joined forces with the rebel group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).

On top of the resurgence of violence and lockdowns, civilians are caught up in the monsoons, Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque said.

“It hasn’t rained for months, and there have been conflicts over water, especially in Mali between the Fulani villagers and the Dogon militia supported by the Malian army – so this is a situation,” he said.

The April attacks showed how fighters from different groups with different goals can strike at the heart of the West African country’s military regime.

The risk of ‘still’

At a press conference in Bamako on Wednesday, Mali’s army chief Djibrilla Maiga said fighters are trying to rebuild after the April attacks, which killed Defense Minister Sadio Camara and drove Russian troops allied with Malian leaders from the northern town of Kidal.

“The risks are still there,” Maiga said, although he added that the military was disrupting its operations.

JNIM announced last week that it would try to blockade the capital Bamako by setting up checkpoints on the roads leading there.

Maiga said the fighters had targeted the roads leading to Kayes and Kita, disrupting travel to western Mali, but other roads, including Segou, in central Mali, had been bypassed. Kita is about 180km (112 miles) from Bamako, while Kayes is ⁠—about 580km (360 miles) away.

In northern Mali, where FLA fighters have captured the town of Kidal and the base of Tessalit, the army is reestablishing other areas as part of its territory, Maiga said, without giving details.

In addition to killing Camara by driving a car full of explosives to his house, the fighters targeted the house of Assimi Goita, the leader of the military government, who took power after the revolution in 2020 and 2021, Maiga said.

The security forces “have a threat and interfered with the vehicle”, he said.

Goita appeared on state television on April 28 and said the situation in Mali is good.

Malian forces have “disrupted” several hundred “terrorists” since April 25, Maiga said.