This new toll – the previous one indicated 17 soldiers and 4 civilians killed – is the heaviest for the Malian army since the series of attacks at the end of 2019-early 2020 by the Islamic State group of military camps in this same region of the three borders.
Islamic State attack in the Greater Sahara
On August 8, the army indicated in a press release that 4 civilians were also killed during this attack. Some of them were local elected officials, say relatives of the victims on condition of anonymity.
The statement also claims that seven “enemies” had died in the attack, assailants “probably from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and benefiting from drone and artillery support with the use of explosives and vehicle bombs”.
The sector of Tessit, located on the Malian side of the three-border zone, in a huge rural region not controlled by the state, is frequently the scene of clashes and attacks.
33 soldiers killed in an attack in 2021 in this same military camp
The town and its military camp have often been attacked 1n in the past. In March 2021, 33 soldiers were killed in an ambush by ISGS infantry while they were taking over. Mali has been in turmoil since 2012. The jihadist spread, initially confined to the north of the country, has spread to central and southern Mali, as well as to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.