At least 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers were killed in two attacks in northern Mali. Islamists claimed responsibility for the attacks on a passenger boat and a military position.
In the West African country of Mali, at least 49 civilians and 15 soldiers were killed after Islamist militants attacked a military camp and a boat in the northeast of the country. According to Mali’s military government, many more people were wounded. It can be assumed that the number of victims will continue to rise.
The militants attacked a boat that normally carries civilians across the flooded plains that separate the towns of Gao and Mopti during the rainy season, the statement said. There was another attack on a military camp in the Bourem district. Around 50 Islamist fighters were also killed. The government of the West African country declared three days of national mourning.
Islamists have been terrorizing the country for years
Several radical Islamic groups are currently active in Mali and maintain ties to Al-Qaeda and the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). United Nations (UN) blue helmet troops have been stationed in Mali since 2013. Around 1,000 German soldiers are also deployed, primarily in Gao in the north of the country.
The UN mission was launched after Islamist terrorists overran the north of the country in 2012 following the collapse of neighboring Libya and a rebellion by nomadic Tuaregs.
A military intervention by the former colonial power France only temporarily pushed back the Islamists. Since then, the terrorist groups have been spreading in the north and center of Mali and in its neighboring countries. Because of the precarious security situation, the UN Security Council ended the peacekeeping operation in Mali at the end of June this year.