A sign on a road to Gao, northern Mali, reads ‘welcome to the Islamic state of Gao’. At least 64 people have been killed in multiple jihadist attacks. Photograph: Jérôme Delay/AP
The attacks by suspected jihadists in northern Mali on an army base and a passenger boat on the Niger River have resulted in a tragic loss of life, with 64 people reported killed, according to a Malian official.
The attacks occurred on Thursday, targeting the Timbuktu boat on the Niger River and an army position at Bamba in the northern Gao region. The government statement reported a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed in the two separate attacks, but it did not specify the exact number of casualties in each assault. The attacks were claimed by a group affiliated with al-Qaida, and the Malian army referred to the boat attack as the work of “armed terrorist groups.”
The passenger boat was targeted with at least three rockets aimed at its engines. The Niger River serves as a vital transport link in a region with limited road infrastructure and no railways.
Mali has been grappling with insecurity since 2012 when a rebellion led by ethnic Tuaregs erupted in the northern part of the country. This insurgency was later exploited and exacerbated by jihadist groups, which expanded their activities into central Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, causing instability across the Sahel region.
While a peace agreement was signed between the Malian government and the regional rebels in 2015, the situation remains fragile. In 2020, the civilian government was overthrown by a junta, and tensions have increased recently, especially after the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali was instructed to leave by the end of the year and handed over two bases near Timbuktu to the armed forces. This handover led to clashes between the army, jihadists, and former rebels, raising concerns about the sustainability of the 2015 peace agreement.
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SOURCE
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/08/mali-jihadists-kill-at-least-64-people-amid-growing-islamist-threat