BAMAKO: An attack in the Malian capital targeting a military police training camp and airport left more than 70 people dead and 200 wounded, one of the highest tolls suffered by the security forces in recent years.

A security source said that 77 people had been killed and 255 wounded in Tuesday’s attacks in Bamako. An authenticated confidential official document put the toll at around 100, naming 81 victims.

Thursday’s edition of Le Soir daily reported that the funerals of around 50 military police students would take place that day. Mali’s military-led authorities have so far not released a precise death toll from the attacks, claimed by the Al Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

The operation was the first of its kind in years and dealt a forceful blow to the ruling junta, experts say.

Al Qaeda-linked fighters target military police school and an airport complex

The Malian capital is normally spared the sort of attacks that occur almost daily in some parts of the West African country. The general staff admitted that “some human lives were lost”, notably personnel at the military police centre.

JNIM claimed that a few dozen of its fighters had killed and wounded “hundreds” from the opposing ranks, including members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.

The attack came a day after junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked a year since the creation of their breakaway grouping, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trio, which have been under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, have broken ties with former colonial ruler France and turned militarily and politically towards other partners including Russia.

The Sahel states in January said they were turning their backs on regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Mali has since 2012 been ravaged by different factions affiliated to Al Qaeda and the militant Islamic State group.

Condemnation

JNIM fighters attacked a military police school and stormed part of the nearby airport complex, where a military facility adjoins the civilian one.

The jihadist group broadcast images showing fighters strolling around and firing randomly into the windows of the presidential hangar and destroying aircraft.

Bamako has not seen such an operation since 2016, when gunmen attacked a hotel housing the former European training mission of the Malian army, with no casualties reported among the mission staff.

The flow of information is restricted under the ruling junta and details on how Tuesday’s attack was carried out and its impact are sketchy.

Mali’s neighbour Senegal and African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday condemned the attacks.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024