An al-Qaida-linked group in West Africa’s Sahel region has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Malian military base that killed at least 30 soldiers, according to security sources.
The assault on Sunday targeted a base in Boulkessi, near the Burkina Faso border. The group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), said in a statement it had captured the base. Mali’s army confirmed it had withdrawn from the area after fierce fighting.
“Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation,” the army said, without disclosing casualties.
Security sources said more than 30 soldiers were killed, while a local official in nearby Mondoro said the insurgents had “cleared the camp” and there were “many dead.”
Videos circulated online showed militants stepping on the bodies of fallen soldiers. Reuters could not verify the footage.
The attack is the latest in a wave of violence across the region. JNIM has claimed responsibility for several recent assaults, including a May 24 attack on a base in Dioura, central Mali, that killed 40 soldiers.
In Burkina Faso, JNIM claimed attacks on military sites and the town of Djibo in mid-May, saying it killed 200 soldiers. In Niger, security sources reported more than 100 soldiers killed in attacks in the Tahoua and Dosso regions in late May.
The escalating violence has tested military juntas that took power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger between 2020 and 2023, blaming civilian governments for failing to tackle the insurgency. All three have cut ties with Western allies and turned to Russia for support but remain unable to stop attacks that have displaced millions.