(Bamako) Mali’s transitional government on Wednesday announced a three-day national mourning after confirming the death on Sunday of 42 Malian soldiers in an attack attributed to jihadists in the northeast of the country, near the borders of Burkina. Faso and Niger, an assault during which the army “neutralized 37 terrorists”.
Posted at 5:31 p.m.
The army “reacted vigorously to a complex and coordinated attack” in Tessit during which it had “42 dead and 22 wounded” in its ranks, also reporting “37 terrorists neutralized” and several of their equipment “abandoned “During “several hours of combat”, according to this new report published by the government in a press release sent to AFP. The previous toll reported 17 soldiers and 4 civilians killed.
The government announced a three-day national mourning “in tribute to the civilian and military victims of the terrorist attack in Tessit”, in a separate press release.
The sector of Tessit, located on the Malian side of the three-border zone, in a huge rural region not controlled by the state, is frequently the scene of clashes and attacks.
The town and its military camp have often been attacked in the past. In March 2021, 33 soldiers were killed in an ambush by fighters from the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) while they were taking over.
Mali has been in turmoil since 2012. The jihadist spread, initially confined to the north of the country, has spread to central and southern Mali, as well as to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.