As army and armed groups clash, Indian nationals are taken ‘hostage’, raising concerns that Mali’s crisis may resonate beyond the region. Sikasso, Mali – The Kayes region, which borders Senegal and is vital to Mali’s economy, had remained largely untouched by the violence from armed groups that has rocked the country for several decades.
But that was altered when armed men launched a series of coordinated assaults against military bases in several Malian towns last week, following which the nation’s military forces unleashed a counterattack that it claimed killed 80 fighters.
The increase in violent confrontations between Russian-backed armed combatants and the Malian military, who are receiving the support of Russian paramilitaries known as the Africa Corps, comes amid the political future of the country appearing uncertain, experts indicate, with the military government appearing committed to further extending its control indefinitely.
For over a decade, Mali has endured rebellions by separatist groups and armed combatants, including the two most prominent ones – ISIL affiliate, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), and al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
JNIM took responsibility for the attacks last Tuesday, which Malian authorities stated were aimed at seven main towns in the west and centre: Kayes, Nioro du Sahel, Niono, Molodo, Sandare, Gogui and Diboli.
The group mentioned no material or human losses, but its leader, Iyad Ag Ghali, stated that JNIM had come to completely control three enemy barracks and scores of military sites.
Meanwhile, three Indian nationals who work at a cement company were taken by armed men as “hostages”, the Indian foreign ministry reported on Wednesday, an event that could threaten to widen the crisis beyond the Sahel region of Africa.
This month’s attacks are merely the tip of the iceberg, however, as towns throughout Mali are still being caught in the crossfire, sometimes with violent and even lethal consequences.
Just under two weeks before this, on the evening of June 18, districts in the country’s centre, such as Diallassago and Dianweli, witnessed attacks which cost the lives of at least 130 individuals. Before that, there was an armed group assault on the Dioura military camp in the Mopti region that killed 41 Malian army members on May 23.
