Gunmen raid Mali military camp, 16 soldiers killed

Gunmen temporarily seized an army base in Central Mali, Reuters reported on Sunday citing a local mayor.

The attack in the Mpoti region also led to the death of 16 Malian soldiers. The base was burned with reports indicating that arms had also been taken.

Mali’s central government continues to battle with insurgent groups largely located in the country’s vast north.

#Mali: Suspected #JNIM (Macina brigade) carried an attack this morning against military camp of Dioura, Mopti Region. Initial reports talking about high number of casualties while the camp burned, arms and vehicles seized. #Sahel

— Rida Lyammouri (@rmaghrebi) March 17, 2019

Security watchers believe the attack was orchestrated by Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, JNIM.

Nusrat al-Islam, officially known as Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin’ is a militant organisation that operates in the Maghreb and West Africa.

It was formed by the merger of more popularly Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM.