Mali: 10 killed in fresh N Mali attack

9 years ago
Mali: 10 killed in fresh N Mali attack

BAMAKO, (AA):  At least ten people were killed on Sunday in a fresh militant attack in northern Mali, two days after an attack on a hotel left 12 people dead, according to a Malian military spokesman.

The spokesman, who insisted on anonymity, said the attack had occurred in the northern village of Gaberi.

The village is located close to northern Mali’s Gourma-Rharous area some 160 kilometers east of Timbuktu.

Local sources said the perpetrators were an armed group of Tuareg, and the attack was likely in retaliation for the murder of a member of the community.

Agna Ag Sidi Mohamed from the Tuareg was killed while he was grazing his herd near the Niger River.

A nomadic community, the Tuareg number as many as 1.2 million and mostly live in the Sahara Desert. They have revolted several times against the Malian government over the last half a century.

Sunday’s attack comes two days after 12 people were killed in northern Mali after militants attacked a hotel — known for frequently hosting U.N. personnel — in the town of Sevare, located some 600 kilometers north of capital Bamako. According to local sources, casualties included five Malian soldiers, three hotel employees, three of the attackers and a U.N. contractor.

Earlier this month, 11 Malian troops were killed by unidentified gunmen in an attack on a military camp located in the same area.

In 2012, violence erupted in northern Mali following a failed coup attempt and a Tuareg rebellion that allowed al-Qaeda-linked militants to take over the northern half of the country.

In early 2013, former colonial power France sent troops to the North African country and — with the help of Chadian and other African forces — flushed the militants from Mali’s main northern cities.

Nevertheless, recent months have continued to see sporadic attacks on U.N. peacekeepers and Malian army personnel.

Author: Hatice Kesgin
[Photo: Members of the security forces stands near the La Terrace restaurant, in Bamako, Mali on March 7, 2015, after five people were shot dead and 10 people injured overnight in the restaurant in a suspected terror attack. Photographer: Baba Ahmed/Anadolu Agency]