Bamako – Six people were killed in Mali, including two gendarmes and a police officer, in a rare attack near its capital Bamako, the Ministry of Security said Friday evening.
The landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel is facing an ongoing political and security crisis, particularly in its volatile northern and central regions, where a jihadist insurgency has raged since 2012.
But the violence rarely reaches Bamako, in Mali’s southwest.
On Thursday night, about 70km (43 miles) from the capital, an attack took place “at the checkpoint of Zantiguila, on the road to the central city of Segou”, the security ministry said.
The attack was carried out “by as yet unidentified armed individuals”, leaving three civilians and three law enforcement officers dead, and wounding two others, it said.
A police station on the same road was ambushed by “unidentified armed individuals” on June 24, killing one officer, authorities had said.
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The impoverished country – one of the most politically unstable in Africa – has seen two military coups since 2020.
Colonels angry at the government’s handling of the long-running jihadist insurgency seized power in August 2020, then carried out another coup in May the following year.
The ruling junta in Bamako has turned towards Russia – away from France and its partners – in an attempt to prevent jihadists from spreading in the center of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
The friction caused by Bamako’s new ties with Russia – as well as the junta’s continued delays in restoring civilian rule – has caused a falling out between Mali and France.
The French are expected to complete the pullout of their forces from Mali in the coming weeks, shifting the spotlight to Niger as a frontline state in the fight against jihadism.
The violence has left thousands of civilians and soldiers dead and hundreds of thousands displaced across the region.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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