Mali’s military says it has killed at least 80 militants following a wave of coordinated assaults on army positions across seven towns, in what officials called one of the most extensive offensives in recent months.
Army spokesperson Souleymane Dembele said in a televised statement that the attackers suffered “heavy losses” wherever they engaged with Malian forces. The announcement was accompanied by footage showing what appeared to be dead fighters, captured motorbikes, and seized weapons.
The attacks, which occurred Tuesday, targeted Diboli near the Senegalese border, Kayes, Sandere, Nioro du Sahel, Gogoui near Mauritania, and the central towns of Molodo and Niono. The military said all seven sites were hit by indirect fire.
Al-Qaeda’s Sahel affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), claimed responsibility earlier in the day, boasting that its fighters had taken over several military installations in what it called “high-quality coordinated attacks.”
The incidents bear the hallmarks of previous large-scale operations by JNIM, which has increasingly targeted security forces in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso. The militant group has exploited the ongoing instability in Mali, which has been ruled by a military junta since a 2020 coup.
For over a decade, Malian authorities have battled jihadist groups aligned with both al-Qaeda and Islamic State, in addition to navigating long-standing tensions with Tuareg rebels in the north.
