A joint military operation launched by Malian and French forces has reportedly eliminated 26 militants. Mali’s military command said in a statement that the operation took place early Monday in Alatona, near the border with Mauritania.
The operation hit militants who had staged a foiled ambush on Saturday. French and Malian troops launched a counter-attack after ascertaining their location.
The Malian army claims “26 terrorists” were killed in the joint operation, “a large quantity of arms” captured along with trucks.
Mali has been battling to contain militant insurgency which first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, before spreading across the Sahel into neighbouring Burkina Faso and reaching Niger Republic.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict and thousands have fled their homes. France with 5,100 soldiers deployed across the Sahel region as part of Operation Barkhane intervened in Mali in 2013 to beat back the insurrectionists.