Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian President.
Terrorists attack Russian camp in war ravaged Mali
Suspected jihadists have attacked a military camp in central Mali, according to two local officials and a diplomatic source.
Mali has been battling a security crisis since 2012 when jihadist and separatist insurgencies broke out in the north of the country.
“We have no toll for the moment as the situation is still confused. It is jihadists who targeted the airport and the Russian camp next to it,” a local official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Two Malian military officials also confirmed the attack had taken place in the town of Sevare, in the Mopti region.
Around 5:30 am (0530 GMT), four loud explosions could be heard, followed by automatic weapons fire, smoke was also seen near the airport.
“It is the Russian camp and their planes that have been targeted;!the camp is near the airport.
“The jihadists have surrounded part of the airport,” another local official told AFP.
He said that Senegalese soldiers from the UN’s mission in Mali, MINUSMA, were able to slow the jihadists’ advance.
MINUSMA’s camp covers four hectares of land next to the airport and the Malian army camp that houses the Russians.
A MINUSMA official declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
“We are facing a terrorist attack in Sevare — our men are on the ground”, a Malian military official told AFP.
“It was a complex attack that required a booby-trapped vehicle and guerrilla techniques,” another military source said.
Mali has since August 2020 been ruled by a military junta, which broke a long-standing alliance with France and other Western partners in the fight against jihadism and turned militarily and politically toward Russia.
The country’s junta in 2022 began working with what it calls Russian military “instructors,” who opponents say are mercenaries from the Wagner group.
