At least 70 people have been killed in a fresh wave of jihadist attacks in central Mali over the past few days, according to local and security sources.
The assaults, claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), included coordinated attacks on Friday following earlier raids on villages that left at least 30 dead on Wednesday.
A separate local official however put the death toll higher, estimating that around 80 people have died.
“Our hearts are bleeding,” a local youth leader said, accusing nearby army detachments of failing to intervene despite repeated calls for assistance, as cited by AFP.
A security source described the situation in the region as “worrying”, adding that “JNIM is targeting villages that refused to sign local agreements.”
The latest violence follows an earlier attack this week in which armed fighters stormed Kenieroba Central Prison, a newly built facility around 60km (37 miles) southwest of capital Bamako.
The prison holds about 2,500 inmates, including at least 72 prisoners classified as “high value” by the Malian authorities.
Mali has been rocked by a series of attacks since April 25–26, when the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) reportedly joined hands with the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
At a news conference in Bamako on Wednesday, Malian army commander Djibrilla Maiga said that fighters were trying to regroup following the April attacks, which killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and forced Russian troops aligned with Mali’s leadership to withdraw from the strategic northern town of Kidal.
“The threat is still present,” Maiga said, while adding that the military was actively disrupting their movements, as cited by Al Jazeera.
Separately, JNIM announced last week that it intended to impose a blockade on Bamako by establishing checkpoints on roads leading to the capital.
