Six Malian soldiers killed by terrorists near northern borders
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Troops were on their way to Ber as part of a handover mission while the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was readying to leave the country.
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Mali's army and foreign fighters killed at least 500 people during an anti-jihadist operation in Mali in March 2022, a UN report said. (AFP)
Mali reported on Saturday that six soldiers were killed as a result of an attack waged by armed terrorists in the northern parts of the country.
An earlier statement read that one person was killed and four were injured in the attack that took place in the village of Ber on Friday. Saturday's statement reported that the death toll had risen to six, adding that "in their route, armed terrorist groups abandoned 24 bodies".
The fight that took place in the Timbuktu region was sparked by an "attempted incursion and harassing fire by terrorist groups against FAMa (Malian Armed Forces) units."
Troops were on their way to Ber as part of a handover mission while the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was readying to leave the country.
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Since the military junta rose to power in 2020, its leaders have been working with the UN Security Council to pull out all MINUSMA troops by the end of 2023.
On another note, Tuareg terrorists on Friday said that their forces were attacked by the Malian army and Russian contractors from Wagner PMC in Ber.
The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) told AFP on Saturday that there were "maneuvers against its positions by the Malian armed forces accompanied by the Wagner militia."
The CMA is a coalition of Tuareg-dominated armed groups that illegally exercises control over parts of Mali, seeking to part away from the Malian state and form their government.
"The FAMa is determined to occupy MINUSMA's holdings at all costs, including those in areas under CMA control, in violation of all the security arrangements guaranteed to date by the UN mission and the international community", it added, referring to a 2015 peace agreement.
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Mali has been under threat from terrorists since 2012 and has witnessed two military coups since 2020.
Colonels angry at the government's handling of the long-running insurgency seized power in August 2020, then carried out another coup in May the following year.
The junta that came to power in August 2020 maintains sharp tensions with France, which had sent troops to its former colony in what many saw as a bid by Paris to keep a colonial foothold in the country.
The Malian people have a profound sentiment of resentment toward France due to its failure to achieve any tangible achievements in terms of the country's security, political instability, and economic issues in the last ten years.
Paris no longer possesses the legal basis for carrying out military operations in Mali after the West African nation withdrew from defense agreements with it, and the French fully withdrew from Mali's territory by August 15, 2022.
