AFRICA. Mali: Group of terrorists suspected to be the Sahel-based Al-Qaeda nebula has launched a coordinated attack on a military base in Kati, 15 kilometres away from Bamako, Central Mali and killed military personnel.
According to Mali’s Armed Force, in recent days, the terrorist has also attacked a military camp in the western town of Kalumba and Sokolo.
The Malian Junta who have been bothered by the recent attack by the Al-Qaedas are tipped by the Arm forces to step up in their effort to curtail the attacks and bring a lasting solution to the country and their citizens.
The attacks are coming at a time of deteriorating security context. The West African country has been plagued by war since 2012 and shaken by two coups d’état in two years (2020, 2021). The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM, JNIM in Arabic), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, seem to be extending its influence amid the confusion.
“Among the attacks is the Friday attack at an army residence in Kati, which claimed the life of a soldier at Bamako, where the president of the transitional authorities lives,” Mali forces said.
It is the first time that such a strategic and symbolic site has been targeted. Al-Qaeda jihadists in recent years have been targeting security posts in rural and peri-urban areas in Mali’s north and centre.
Strategic Attacks
The recent attack in the country shows that the enemies are capable of striking anywhere since the terrorists have attacked Malian observers of the security situation in Mali.
GSIM, which was created in 2017 by the merger of several factions, claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM, pioneer of the Sahel Jihad, born in Algeria in 2007), Ansar Dine of Mali Iyad Ag Ghali and Al-Mourabitoune of the late Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Katib Macin of Amadou Kouf.
The armed forces of Mali also condemned the “terrorist infiltration attempts” in the “Hamadoun Bocary Barry camp” as well as the attempt to “deploy the air force” in the city of Sevare, central Mali.
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