Mali Army Reports Coordinated Attacks, Including Prison Targeting

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Malian army announced on Saturday that armed individuals had attacked 5 points across the country. These assaults occur more than two months after armed individuals had previously raided the capital and other parts of the nation.

Military and security sources in Mali indicated that these attacks took place on Saturday in areas including a town in the north where government forces and opposition fighters are stationed, as well as a town in the south of the capital, Bamako.

The country’s army stated that the attacks targeted the regions of Aguelhok, Anefis, and Gao in the north, Sevare in the center, and Kenieroba in the south.

In a supplementary statement released hours earlier, the army announced that 20 “terrorists” were killed in Sevare and 6 individuals in Gao. It added that the situation is now “completely under control.”

The Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing residents and security sources in Mali, reported that a prison in Kenieroba, located 74 kilometers from Bamako, was attacked. AFP further noted that clashes at various points began around 5 AM local time.

Mohamed Al-Mouloud Ramadan, spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), told Reuters that the group’s fighters had attacked Anefis in the Kidal region, northeastern Mali.

Mali has previously contended with insurgencies from armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north of the country. Separatist factions have been fighting for years to establish an independent state in northern Mali.