Mali military base attack: Dozens of militants killed, army says

Mali's authorities say their soldiers killed dozens of militant Islamists as they repelled an attack on a military base on Sunday. This was reported by infohub.kz.

Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the assault, saying its fighters took control of the base in the town of San. However, the army disputed this, saying it had to "retreat temporarily" but did not lose control.

The incident highlights Mali's deteriorating security situation, more than a decade after a jihadist insurgency began in the north of the country.

Lt Col El Oumrani, commander of the 23rd regiment in the San garrison, said in a video address: "The enemy was eliminated and the attack was successfully repelled. Around 40 terrorists were eliminated." He urged residents to remain vigilant, insisting that his soldiers had "not gone anywhere" and that the base remained under army control.

According to witnesses quoted by French broadcaster RFI, the attack began at around 05:00 local time on Sunday and lasted about two hours. The attackers arrived on motorcycles and on foot, some disguised in army uniforms to infiltrate the base. One witness said the militants entered the camp and held it for a long time before leaving.

Another witness said: "I noticed that the fighting took place between 200 and 300 metres from the camp. Several terrorists were killed by soldiers, but others fled; some even hid in houses and others went into the forest."

The AFP news agency, citing security and local sources, reported that at least 10 soldiers were killed and the assailants briefly took over the camp. The army told national broadcaster ORTM that the militants used drones, heavy machine guns and armoured vehicles.

Since 2012, Mali has been plagued by insurgencies, with large parts of the north and east outside government control. In April, jihadists and separatist rebels - the Azawad Liberation Front - launched coordinated attacks across the country in an attempt to overthrow the military regime. During these attacks, Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an explosion at his residence near the capital, Bamako.

JNIM has diversified its operations, targeting not only northern Mali but also central and southern Mali, demonstrating its ability to penetrate deeper into the territory despite numerous military operations. Following the 2020 coup, Mali rejected French military assistance and turned to Russia instead.