Mali army strikes kill at least eight civilians

Bamako – Military strikes on a central Malian village have killed at least eight civilians and wounded around 10 others, security and local sources said Wednesday.

The Sahel country has been ruled since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 by a military junta, which has pledged to ramp up national security in the face of jihadist violence.

Recent years have seen documented attacks by the army and its paramilitary allies from Russia’s Africa Corps against civilians.

The latest strikes were on the village of Nzanakoro in the central region of Segou, the sources told AFP.

“The bombing happened on Monday morning. Eight people were killed and 10 others were hurt,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A local official said the dead included four women and also children, adding at least six children had suffered serious injuries, including burns.

The official warned that the death toll could rise.

A resident of a nearby village, about 10 kilometres (6.5 miles) away, recounted seeing planes repeatedly flying over the area before hearing explosions.

“There were at least six loud bangs coming from the same place,” the resident added.

A security source based in Segou said the blasts occurred in a zone where Malian troops and Russian paramilitary allies were caught up in a deadly ambush that killed seven people late last month.

For the past 14 years, Mali has been battling a security crisis fuelled by violence from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as criminal gangs and Tuareg separatists.

The west African country has in recent years fostered growing ties with Russia, whose Africa Corps mercenaries are helping in its fight against the jihadists.

The security situation has worsened since April, however, with separatist-allied jihadists launching a series of coordinated attacks on strategic positions of the junta and the army in several cities, including the capital Bamako.