Armed men attacked a detachment of the Malian army in Bintagoungou, a village about 40km from the Goundam circle in the Timbuktu region on Saturday early in the morning.
According to a local security source reached by Sahelien.com, the report “is very heavy” without wanting to say more. Adding that there were also “hostages or missing” in addition to the military equipment that was taken.
In Bamako, an official at the Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack indicating that there were at least “three dead and eight wounded”. “This is an assessment that I still have to confirm”, he insists.
In Mali, attacks on the Malian and international armed forces are increasing. Despite the signing of a peace agreement in 2015 after the French intervention to dislodge the extremists from the north of the country, many armed groups and terrorists are more active than ever.
In a new report on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the country’s army had sustained 105 attacks since June 2016. During this period 131 soldiers were killed and 176 others injured, according to Guterres.
Aboubacar Dicko