At least sixty-four persons have been killed in two separate armed attacks on an army base and a passenger boat on the Niger River in northern Mali on Thursday, a statement from the Malian Armed Forces said.
The attacks by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants were targeted at the Timbuktu passenger boat on the Niger River and an army camp at Bamba, located in the northern Gao region in Mali.
The militants killed at least 49 civilians in the river boat attack, and 15 soldiers in the army camp. Over members of the terrorist groups were also reportedly killed during the attacks.
“On September 7, 2023, at around 11 a.m. [11:00 GMT], armed terrorist groups with fatal designs attacked a boat from COMANAV [a ferry operator] between Abakoira and Zorghoi, in the territory of Rarhous,” Mali’s military said in a statement.
Mali’s interim Government led by Colonel Assimi Goita, has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the attacks by militants.
For over a decade, the Western African country has grappled with an alarming rise in violent extremism, and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
In March 2023, the United Nations, through the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern for the rising incidents of terrorist attacks in the Sahel and other places.
Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the gains terrorist groups are making in the Sahel, and elsewhere, while delivering prepared notes at a Security Council meeting on counterterrorism organised by Mozambique.
“No age, no culture, no religion, no nationality, and no region is immune, but the situation in Africa is especially concerning. Despair, poverty, hunger, lack of basic services, unemployment, and unconstitutional changes in government continue to lay fertile ground for the creeping expansion of terrorist groups to infect new parts of the continent. I am deeply concerned by the gains terrorist groups are making in the Sahel, and elsewhere,” he said.
United Kingdom’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN James Kariuki, said the solution to ending terrorism in Africa would be sanctions:
“As we work to cut off the funding of terrorism, we encourage greater use of U.N. sanctions regimes on the continent of Africa, whilst ensuring continued delivery of humanitarian assistance to states responding to crises.”
“We deeply, deeply value our cooperation with regional partners on the al-Shabab sanctions regime. We have used this to continue tightening the norms on al-Shabab, including through sponsoring the designation of individuals associated with that group,” he said.
The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Mali known as MINUSMA in August, hastened to withdraw its troops from the city of Ber in the north, citing “deteriorating security” as the reason for the urgent withdrawal.
“MINUSMA has brought forward its withdrawal from Ber due to the degradation of security in the area and the high risks that brings for our Blue Helmets.”
“It urges all concerned parties to refrain from any actions that could further complicate the operation,” the force wrote in a statement on X (Twitter).
Mali has suffered several coups in the past years, the most recent one being the 24 May 2021 coup action that was led by the country’s then Vice President, Assimi Goita who currents leads the interim government.