At least 9 soldiers killed in the latest attack in central Mali | Mali news

Six other soldiers injured in an ambush near the village of Boni in the violence-ridden region of Mopti.

The Malian army said at least nine soldiers were killed and six others wounded following an ambush in the unstable center of the country.

The attack took place at around 6:15 a.m. (6:15 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday near the village of Boni in the Mopti region, a hotbed of recent violence.

In a Twitter post, the military said it retaliated with air support from the French Barkhane force and the Malian Air Force.

Army spokesman Colonel Soulemane Dembele told Reuters news agency that around 20 attackers were also killed in the forces’ response.

Mopti, Mali – map

Mali has been embroiled in a brutal conflict that started as a separatist movement in the north, but quickly turned into a multitude of armed groups seeking control in the central and northern regions of the country.

Insecurity has spread to the arid scrublands of the Sahel, Burkina Faso and Niger, with groups exploiting the poverty of marginalized communities and exacerbating tensions between ethnic groups.

Attacks increased five-fold between 2016 and 2020, with 4,000 people killed in the three countries last year, up from around 770 in 2016, according to the United Nations.

It was not known which group carried out the last attack.

Rebel attacks in central Mali typically involve roadside bombs or hit and run raids on motorcycles or vans.

The region has seen a series of deadly attacks since the start of the year, including a roadside bomb that killed four United Nations peacekeepers from Côte d’Ivoire.

French and Malian troops also led a joint mission in the region, called Operation Eclipse. According to a statement from the Malian army on January 26, “100 terrorists were neutralized” during the operation.

The deteriorating security situation has created a huge humanitarian crisis across the Sahel, destroying fragile agricultural economies and hampering aid efforts.