Two Malian soldiers were killed early Sunday February 13 in northern Mali during an attack on their post attributed to jihadists, the army announced on social networks.
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The Niafounké post was attacked around 2:00 a.m. by an "
armed terrorist group
", the army said, using a term commonly designating jihadists.
"
The balance sheet is two dead on the FAMa side (Malian Armed Forces) and five dead on the attackers
' side," she added.
These are the first human losses announced by the Malian army in its ranks for some time now.
AFP has not found on the army's Facebook account any mention of such losses since a press release on January 5 reporting six deaths in its ranks during clashes in November and December.
Meanwhile, the Malian army has claimed responsibility for the deaths of dozens of jihadists and the destruction of several of their bases since the launch in December of an operation called Kèlètigui.
These releases describe the jihadists "
increasingly in disarray
", seeking "
avoidance
" with the Malian forces.
Since 2012, jihadists have caused the death of hundreds of members of the national security forces in Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger to which they have extended their actions.