AceBreakingNews – At least 49 civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed by suspected Islamist militants who attacked a military camp and boat in north-eastern Mali.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Sept.08: 2023: Reuters News Agency

The death toll is expected to increase and many more are wounded, according to Mali’s interim government who spoke on national television.

It did not specify how many died in each assault, but said the assaults were “claimed” by a group affiliated to al-Qaeda.

The Insurgents attacked a boat carrying civilians across the flooded Niger river that separate the towns of Gao and Mopti during the rainy season.

The vessel was travelling from Gao when it was hit Thursday. 

Assailants also attacked a military camp in the Bourem Circle, an administrative subdivision of the Gao region.

Around 50 assailants were killed in response and three days of national mourning have been declared, the interim government said.

The two villages are east of Timbuktu, a city that has been blockaded by armed groups since late August, when the Malian army deployed reinforcements to the region.

The insurgents are preventing the desert city from being supplied with basic goods.

More than 30,000 residents have fled the city and a nearby region, according to an August report by the United Nations’ humanitarian agency.

Mali is one of several West African countries battling a violent insurgency with links to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

The insurgents took root in Mali’s arid north in 2012.

Militants have gained ground, spreading across the Sahel and to coastal West African nations, despite costly international efforts to support local troops. 

Frustrations about growing insecurity spurred two military takeovers in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020 — four of eight coups to hit West and Central Africa over the past three years.

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