The United States has ordered its non-essential employees and their families to leave Mali "
due to the increased risk of terrorist attacks in areas frequented by foreigners
".
In a statement Friday, the US State Department noted that the US Embassy "
continues to have limited capacity to provide emergency assistance to US citizens in Mali
".
"
Armed and terrorist groups continue to plan kidnappings and attacks in Mali
" and may target "
nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, places of worship, international diplomatic missions and other places frequented by Westerners
,” according to the text.
Mali, a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, has been the scene of two military coups in 2020 and 2021. The political crisis has gone hand in hand with a serious security crisis since the outbreak, in 2012, of separatist insurgencies and bloody jihadist actions in the North.
On Wednesday, at least 15 Malian soldiers and three civilians were killed in three coordinated attacks attributed to "
terrorists
", bringing to 11 the number of attacks in less than a week in Mali.