At the very least 49 civilians and 15 troopers had been killed when Islamist militants attacked a navy camp and a vessel in northeastern Mali on Thursday, the interim authorities mentioned.
Many extra had been wounded, it added in a press release learn on nationwide tv, noting that the loss of life toll was provisional.
Insurgents attacked a ship carrying civilians throughout the flooded plains that separate the cities of Gao and Mopti in the course of the wet season. The vessel was touring from Gao when it was hit.
Assailants additionally attacked a navy camp within the Bourem Circle, an administrative subdivision of the Gao area in Mali’s northeast.
Round 50 assailants had been killed in response and three days of nationwide mourning declared, the interim authorities mentioned.
Mali is one among a number of West African nations battling a violent insurgency with hyperlinks to al-Qaida and Islamic State that took root in its arid north in 2012.
Militants have gained floor, spreading throughout the Sahel and to coastal West African nations, regardless of pricey worldwide efforts to help native troops. Hundreds of individuals have been killed and over 6 million displaced throughout the Sahel area south of the Sahara.
Frustrations about rising insecurity spurred two navy takeovers in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020 — 4 of eight coups to hit West and Central Africa over the previous three years.