15 Troops, 3 Civilians Killed In Coordinated Mali Attacks: Army

Bamako, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jul, 2022 ) :At least 15 soldiers and three civilians were killed in coordinated "terrorist" attacks in Mali, the chronically unstable country's army said Wednesday, the latest deadly violence to rock the Sahel state.

In Kalumba, near the Mauritanian border, "the death toll on the friendly side is 12, including three civilians from a road construction company", the army said in a statement.

The army death toll in Sokolo, in central Mali, was six with 25 others wounded, five of them seriously.

A third attack, in centrally-located Mopti ended without casualties overnight.

Over the weekend, Mali's army said it had thwarted a new attack on a military camp in the centre of the country, two days after a deadly suicide attack in a strategic garrison town near the capital.

The Malian army has intensified its anti-jihadist operations in recent months, relying on what it describes as Russian instructors.

Despite a deteriorating security situation, the junta turned its back on France and its international partners, instead leaning on Russia to stem the threat posed by jihadists to Mali, as well as Burkina Faso and Niger.