At least seventy people have been killed in new attacks by jihadist fighters in central Mali in recent days, security sources reported on Saturday in the West African country.
The jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), or Jihadists of the Group in Support of Islam and Muslims, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
At least thirty people were killed in two attacks in the same region on Wednesday. A local representative told the French news agency AFP that “the armed groups returned yesterday (Friday, ed.) and attacked villages again.”
JNIM on Thursday called for a broad ‘common front’ against the military junta in Mali. Observers consider the possibility of JNIM capturing the capital Bamako.
Security crisis
The West African country has been facing a serious security crisis since armed groups launched an offensive against the military junta at the end of April. Two rebel groups – the separatist movement Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) in the north and the Islamist JNIM in the south – have joined forces.
They go to war against the troops of the junta, the Malian army and mercenaries of the former Wagner Group, now called Afrika Korps.
