An al Qaeda-linked group had today, Friday, September 8, claimed responsibility for an attack that happened on a military base in northeastern Mali.
The attack had come a day after the authorities accused the same group of carrying out a double assault on another military camp and a boat that saw over 60 people dead.
About 49 civilians and 15 soldiers were slaughtered when assailants attacked the vessel on a waterway that links the northern regions of Gao and Mopti.
A camp in the Bourem Circle, in Gao region had also been raided. It is said that this camp has become a hotbed of jihadist activity over the past 10 years.
Mali’s interim government had however, remarked that the insurgents from a West African branch of al Qaeda, were to be blamed for the attacks, however, Reuters could not confirm the authenticity of this claim.
The JNIM group had on its own, on Friday, separately disclosed that it was responsible for a suicide attack on a military base adjacent to Gao International Airport.
Authorities have yet to comment on the second attack, as at the time of filing this report.
Access to the city is presently restricted as fighting had spilled over to its outside wall, according to an eyewitness report. The airport had also been shut and soldiers have been stationed in front of the government buildings.
Mali is one of many West African countries struggling to battle the violent insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, IS, that took root in Mali’s arid north area in 2012 before it spread across the region.
Anger over the mounting insecurity have led to military takeovers in the three worst-hit countries: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
