Mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) killed nine Mali soldiers during November in central and southern areas in thrall to a decade-long jihadist insurgency, the military said Sunday.
The armed forces “were in November 2022 the object of three IED attacks leaving nine FAMa (armed forces) troops dead in combat, eight injured and three vehicles damaged,” said a statement distributed to social media platforms.
The bulk of the violence across the month was in the north but also hit the southern region of Sikasso, previously largely spared unrest sparked by jihadist groups such as the Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), led by an Al-Qaeda-linked Tuareg, Iyad Ag Ghali.
Since 2012, thousands have died in Mali and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in an insurgency which has spread to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
Despair at the toll prompted Malian army officers to mount a coup in 2020.
The following year saw Malian forces launch a large-scale…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
