At least 9 soldiers killed in latest central Mali attack

 The Malian army has said at least nine soldiers were killed and six others wounded following an ambush in the country’s volatile centre.

The attack occurred at about 6:15am (06:15 GMT) on Wednesday near the village of Boni in the Mopti region, a hotspot of recent violence.

In a Twitter post, the army said it hit back with air support from the French Barkhane force and the Malian air forces.

Army spokesman Colonel Soulemane Dembele told Reuters news agency about 20 attackers were also killed in the forces’ response.

Mopti, Mali – map

Mali has been plagued by a brutal conflict that began as a separatist movement in the north but soon devolved into a multitude of armed groups jockeying for control in the country’s central and northern regions.

The insecurity has spread across the arid scrublands of the Sahel, into Burkina Faso and Niger, with groups exploiting the poverty of marginalised communities and inflaming tensions between ethnic groups.

Attacks grew fivefold between 2016 and 2020, with 4,000 people killed in the three countries last year, up from about 770 in 2016, according to the United Nations.

It was not clear which group carried out the latest attack.

Rebel attacks in central Mali typically involve roadside bombs or hit-and-run raids on motorbikes or pickups.

The region has seen a string of deadly attacks since the start of the year, including a roadside bomb that killed four United Nations peacekeepers from Ivory Coast.

French and Malian troops have also carried out a joint mission in the area, called Operation Eclipse. According to a Malian army statement on January 26, “100 terrorists were neutralised” in the operation.

The deteriorating security situation has created an enormous humanitarian crisis across the Sahel, destroying fragile agricultural economies and hobbling aid efforts.