A Malian army convoy escorting trucks towards neighbouring Niger was ambushed by jihadists in the northeastern region of Ménaka on Thursday, raising fears of a heavy death toll, according to multiple sources.
The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISIG) terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 16 soldiers. It said on its propaganda platform, Amaq, that fighters affiliated with it had ambushed the army convoy as it travelled towards Niger and that dozens of soldiers were injured in the fighting, which lasted about an hour.
A local elected official and military and police sources confirmed the attack to French news agency AFP. “The Malian army was ambushed on Thursday in Assaylal, some 20 kilometres from Ménaka on the way to Andéramboukane. The toll is high,” a local politician told AFP.
“Islamic State terrorists ambushed army troops not far from Ménaka on Thursday. We are currently assessing the toll. Our troops defended themselves fiercely,” a Malian military source said.
A police official added that the army was “escorting trucks towards Niger.”
AFP was unable to say what the escorted trucks were to be used for in Niger, plagued like Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso with the spread of jihadism and plunged into a major political crisis since a military coup a week ago.
Mali, which has also been ruled by a junta since a putsch in 2020, has assured Niger’s new authorities of its support. The government in Bamako has warned that it would consider military intervention in Niger as a “declaration of war” against Mali.
During a visit to Bamako on Wednesday, a member of the Niger junta reiterated the importance of cooperation between the two countries in their fight against the jihadists.
Mali has been gripped since 2012 by a deep security crisis that started in the north and spread to the centre of the country, then to Burkina Faso and Niger. Over the past few months, the Ménaka region has seen an upsurge in jihadi activity spearheaded by ISGS.
The terror group has been accused by international non-governmental group Human Rights Watch of being responsible for hundreds of deaths and of forcing thousands of people from their homes in recent months.
