Sixteen Malian soldiers were killed on Monday in the center and east of the country in two separate attacks blamed on jihadists, one of which was claimed by the Islamic State organization, according to a new army report published on Tuesday night. to Wednesday, March 23.
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A previous assessment reported four Malian soldiers killed in total in Tessit (East) and Boni (Center).
The army said late Tuesday evening in its press release to have "
neutralized
" 37 "
terrorists
".
The Islamic State organization, for its part, claimed to have killed and injured dozens of soldiers during the attack on Tessit, in a press release published by its agency Amaq and authenticated by the American specialized organization SITE.
The Islamic State uses a new denomination of "
Sahel province
" of the IS, in which it places Mali.
The Islamic State organization had until then included neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso and eastern Niger in its “
West Africa province
”.
“The raking continues”
In Tessit, which is located a few tens of kilometers from the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger in the so-called three-border area, a FAMa post was attacked and the army had "
registered two dead and 10 wounded
" on Monday.
According to the military communiqué, “
the FAMa vigorously repelled the attack.
Nine dead were counted on the spot and several wounded terrorists were intercepted and destroyed by an air intervention
.
The army concludes the short press release by specifying that "
the sweep continues thoroughly to clean these sectors
".
Two-thirds of Malian territory is beyond state control.
The jihadist spread, under affiliation with al-Qaeda or the Islamic State organization, is beginning to affect further south, Côte d'Ivoire or Benin for example, threatening to reach the Gulf of Guinea.
Jihadist actions, combined with inter-community violence, villainous acts but also abuses by the army, have left thousands dead, civilians and soldiers, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Insecurity contributes to political instability.
After Mali twice since August 2020, Burkina Faso was the scene of a putsch last January.
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For its part, the Malian army claims the death of dozens of jihadists in recent months.
A recent press release assured that "
fear (had) changed sides, the enemy is fleeing towards the borders or hiding among the population
".
