A suspected jihadist attack that took place in northern Mali has killed 32 people, local officials and an NGO reported. The incident happened on Friday, February 7, when a convoy-which included civilians and was escorted by Malian soldiers alongside Russia’s Wagner mercenary group-was ambushed between the cities of Gao and Ansongo.
First, it was reported that ten people had been killed, but now the death toll has considerably increased. The casualties include civilians and soldiers, said a local official. On Saturday, February 8, medical sources said many of the dead and wounded were being evacuated to Gao, the main city in northern Mali.
Mali has been grappling with growing security challenges since 2012, blamed on actions of groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and various other local criminal groups. The government in Mali, headed by its military, has broken ties with France, its former colonial master, and sought military and political relations with Russia in response to the unabated violence.
Violence in Mali is nothing new; high-profile jihadist attacks last year included a deadly December assault that left at least 20 people dead and six villages destroyed. Then there was the attack in September, for which an Al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility, targeting a military training school and other locations in Bamako, underscoring once more the regional instability.
