Over 20 soldiers killed as JNIM fighters take over Malian armed forces base in Tombouctou
At least 20 Malian soldiers including a base commander were killed on Friday, when suspected members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), attacked a military base in Soumpi located in Tombouctou region in northern Mali.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the fighters arrived at the base on motorcycles and trucks, engaging troops in heavy gunfire for several hours before overpowering them.
Multiple soldiers were reported injured or missing, and it was reported that attackers looted weapons and ammunition before retreating from the military base.
Reinforcing units later arrived to secure the area, and conducted evacuations of the dead and wounded soldiers.
The Malian Armed Forces have not issued an official statement on the attack, but local sources say this is one of the deadliest assaults on states’ troops in recent months.
JNIM, which is al-Qaeda-affiliated, has increased the intensity of its attacks in northern and central Mali targeted both military positions and civilian communities as part of its insurgency against the Malian state and its regional partners.
