Militants attack Mali’s main military base, situation ‘under control’
By Fadimata Kontao
KATI, Mali (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist militants on Friday attacked the primary army base the place Mali’s interim president lives exterior the capital Bamako, however the armed forces mentioned that they had repelled the assault and had the scenario underneath management.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have repeatedly attacked military bases throughout Mali throughout a decade-long insurgency concentrated within the north and centre however by no means so near Bamako within the south.
Heavy gunfire rang out for about an hour early on Friday on the Kati camp, about 15 km (10 miles) from Bamako. A convoy carrying the chief of Mali’s junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, later sped away from his home in Kati within the path of Bamako, a Reuters reporter mentioned.
“The Malian Armed Forces vigorously repelled a terrorist assault towards the Kati base. It was early this morning at round 5 o’clock with two automobile bombs,” the army mentioned in a tweet.
The army and authorities usually check with Islamist insurgents within the nation as terrorists.
“The provisional loss of life toll is 2 assailants neutralised. The scenario is underneath management and clearing operations are underneath strategy to flush out the authors and their accomplices.”
Kati was the positioning of mutinies in 2012 and 2020 that led to profitable coups, however three camp residents, who requested to not be recognized, mentioned the troopers didn’t look like combating amongst themselves.
The military mentioned late on Thursday that al Qaeda-linked militants had staged coordinated assaults towards a number of army camps earlier within the day in central Mali, killing one soldier and wounding 15.
Mali’s junta got here to energy in an August 2020 coup that started as a mutiny on the Kati base. It staged a second coup in 2021 to drive out a civilian interim president who was at odds with Goita.
Goita then turned interim president. He plans to proceed to steer a transitional authorities till elections are held in 2024.
His authorities has sparred repeatedly with neighbouring international locations and worldwide powers over election delays, alleged military abuses and cooperation with Russian mercenaries within the battle towards the Islamist insurgency.
Regardless of coming to energy pledging to stamp out the riot, the junta has been unable to forestall the insurgents from extending their operations additional south.
Final week, unidentified armed males killed six folks at a checkpoint simply 70 km east of Bamako.
(Reporting by Fadimata Kontao; Further reporting and writing by Aaron Ross; Modifying by Edmund Blair, John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie)
