On Saturday, September 9th, Mali entered its second day of national mourning following a series of attacks claimed by JNIM (the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims), linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. On Thursday, two attacks targeted the military camp in Bamba (Gao region) and a boat sailing in the Rharous area (Tombouctou region). On Friday, in Gao, a Malian army camp and the airport were targeted. The attacks on Thursday resulted in at least 64 deaths, but Mali expects a much higher final toll.
In the Ségou region in the center, JNIM claimed responsibility for an operation against the Wagner Group, a Malian army auxiliary, on September 6. In recent weeks, attacks have also multiplied in the Mopti and Bandiagara regions in the center.
The official death toll is preliminary. According to independent sources, around a hundred people may have been killed, with dozens still missing. Numerous injured individuals have been admitted to the regional hospital in Gao. Civil society actors in the region have mobilized to launch a blood donation campaign.
The attacks on Thursday and Friday stand out for their scale, complexity, and high number of victims, notes David Baché from the Africa department. They occur as MINUSMA is withdrawing. The peacekeepers have already left camps in Ogossagou, Ber, Goundam, and Ménaka, and will have completely withdrawn from Mali by the end of the year.
The Malian army is reorganizing and gradually occupying bases vacated by MINUSMA, as it did after the departure of the French Barkhane force. Last week, the army’s general staff described the terrorist groups as being in a state of “nervousness.” The transitional authorities have made the fight against terrorism one of their priorities.